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Swiss Roast

A thick steak braised in tomatoes, onion, and optional sweet pepper, seasoned with salt and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Swiss Roast

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the steak

  1. Pound flour onto both sides of the steak using the edges of a plate.

  2. Heat a skillet and add some fat cut from the meat to it.

  3. Brown the steak on both sides in the skillet.

  4. Transfer the steak to a saucepan.

Braise

  1. Heat the can of tomatoes.

  2. Add the chopped onion and sweet pepper.

  3. Pour the mixture over the steak.

  4. Cover tightly and cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours.

  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste just before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Meat + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,364 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Meat + tomatotop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,438 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Round steak
Main cut that becomes tender during slow, covered cooking in liquid.
Flour
Coats the steak so it browns well and helps thicken the sauce.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity and liquid that gently braise the meat.
Onion
Adds sweetness and savory depth as it softens into the sauce.

The step that matters

Cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours. Low, covered heat breaks down the tough connective tissue in round steak into gelatin, making the meat tender. Rushing with high heat leaves it tough and dry.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, meat, tomato, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Okrafits better
  3. Eggplantfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, meat, tomato, 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.

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