Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Lancashire Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the meat hash
Slice the cold beef very thin.
Chop the sliced beef as finely as possible.
Discard any hard or gristly pieces.
If using bones, crush them.
Place the crushed bones in a saucepan with the rejected meat bits. Add 1 pint of cold water to the saucepan.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, covered.
Strain the liquid.
Mix the strained liquid with any leftover cold gravy to moisten the hash without making it too juicy.
If no bones are available, use a remnant of cold steak. Cover the remnant steak with cold water.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid.
Mix the strained liquid with any leftover cold gravy to moisten the hash without making it too juicy.
Make the potato topping
Peel enough potatoes to match the amount of meat.
Boil the potatoes until a fork easily goes through the largest potato.
Drain the boiled potatoes. Return the pot to the heat. Add a little milk.
Mash the potatoes until smooth.
Assemble and bake
Spread the meat hash in a bake-pan, about 1 inch deep.
Pour the mashed potatoes on top of the meat hash. Smooth the mashed potatoes down.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve immediately.
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.
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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Beef + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,759 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold beef
- Provides the main meat flavour and the bulk of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Form the mashed topping that becomes soft and golden in the oven.
- Cold gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the hash without making it too juicy.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness to the mashed potatoes, making them smooth.
The step that matters
Moistening the hash. Too much liquid makes the hash soupy and the pie wet underneath, so the strained stock and gravy should be added sparingly and only enough to moisten the meat.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, milk):
- Tomatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
- Asparagusfits less well
- Chivefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, milk. 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.
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