Name: Beef Steak Pie
Ingredients: rump beef; leeks; pepper; coarse sea salt; water; pie crust

Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Beef Steak Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Remove the outer skin from the leeks and beat them with a rolling pin.
Season the leeks with pepper and coarse sea salt to taste.
Make a good pie crust and lay the leeks in it.
Pour in enough water to fill the dish.
Cover with the pie crust and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until well baked.

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.

Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + leektop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together659 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
Leek + peppertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together965 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).