Name: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: about 16 large meatballs, serving 4 to 6
Ingredients: 10 cups Simple Tomato Sauce for Pasta, recipe follows, or store-bought pasta sauce; 1 large egg; 1 pound lean ground beef; 1/2 cup chopped yellow onions; 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves; 1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil leaves; 1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano leaves; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence, recipe follows; 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; 1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente according to package directions; Salt, for seasoning cooking water; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 medium); 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves garlic); 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes; 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 cups water; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 (3-inch piece) Parmesan rind; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves; 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Parsley + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,351 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, egg, beef, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano):

Eggplantfits better
Chivefits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, egg, beef, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Spaghetti and Meatballs