Name: Crispy Potato Roast
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; Coarse salt; 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)(I used; , which is milder and can therefore be used more generously); 4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled (smaller diameter potatoes are great, if you can find them); 4 shallots, peeled; 8 sprigs thyme; Garnishes (optional): Bits of goat cheese, crumbles of bacon and/or bits of crisped pancetta

Why it works: Shallot and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,476 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Crispy Potato Roast

Ingredients

3 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)(I used
, which is milder and can therefore be used more generously)
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled (smaller diameter potatoes are great, if you can find them)
4 shallots, peeled
8 sprigs thyme
Garnishes (optional): Bits of goat cheese, crumbles of bacon and/or bits of crisped pancetta

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

576Calories

15 gProtein

37 gFat

49 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Goat Cheese	1 oz (28g)	103
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By smittenkitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Shallot + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,476 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Potato + thymetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Olive + potatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,458 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, olive, pepper, potato, thyme, goat cheese):

Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Chivefits better
Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, olive, pepper, potato, thyme, goat cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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