Why it works: Carrot and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,555 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Rump Steak Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a skillet, brown the chopped onion and diced carrots.
Add the rump steak and cook until browned.
Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well.
Pour in the beef broth and add Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
Simmer for 30 minutes until thickened.
Assemble and bake
Transfer the filling to a pie dish and cover with the pie crust.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump steak
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during long simmering, giving the filling its main body.
- Flour
- Thickens the broth as it simmers, giving the filling a sauce-like body.
- Beef broth
- Forms the liquid that cooks the meat and vegetables and carries the flavour of the filling.
- Onion
- Softens and browns in the skillet, adding sweetness and savoury depth to the filling.
- Carrots
- Add sweetness and soft texture to the filling as they cook.
- Pie crust
- Encloses the filling and browns in the oven to form the golden top.
The step that matters
Thickening the filling by simmering. Flour only thickens when the liquid is simmered long enough for its starch to swell. Stopping early leaves a thin, runny filling that can soak the crust. The filling should be thick before it goes into the pie.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, flour, beef, sauce, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, flour, beef, sauce, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More steak pie recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.