Why it works: Pepper and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Beefsteak and Kidney Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fairly hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Cut the kidneys into thin slices across.
Place one kidney slice on each slice of meat and roll up tightly.
Stand the rolls on end in a pie dish.
Season with salt and pepper, then moisten with water or gravy.
Assemble and bake
Line the edges of the dish with pastry and cover with the remaining pastry.
Decorate the surface with cut leaves of pastry and flake the edges.
Brush with beaten egg and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 2 to 2½ hours.
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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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttock steak
- Forms the main meat that becomes tender during long, slow cooking.
- Kidneys
- Add a rich, distinctive flavour and savoury depth to the filling.
- Rough puff pastry
- Bakes into a flaky, layered crust that rises and browns in the oven.
- Egg
- Brushed on the pastry, it promotes a glossy, golden browned surface.
The step that matters
Rolling the kidney slices into the meat. Roll the meat tightly so the kidney stays enclosed. Loose rolls can unwind and leave the kidney exposed, where it may dry out or taste strong.
“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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