Name: Creamy Habanero & Tomato SoupCreamy Habanero and Tomato Soup
Yield: Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients: In the past, I’ve minced poblanos, jaleñpeos, and serranos. No big deal. But over the weekend, for the sake of this dream, I took on the habanero.; I keep chipotle in adobo around at all times to use in little bits. Once you’ve opened the can, transfer it to a glass or plastic container and store in the fridge. This will keep for months.; When you cut the habanero, I recommend wearing gloves. Otherwise the capsaicin will really stick to your hands and spice up whatever you touch…; 3 tablespoons safflower oil (or olive oil); 1 medium onion, thinly sliced; 1/2 of a habenero pepper, seeds discarded unless you’re a masochist, minced; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 2 teaspoons adobo from a can of chipotle in adobo sauce (fine to use a little chopped up chile too); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes; 1 cup water; 1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar; 1/4 cup cream

Why it works: Pepper and tomato 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 ↓

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.

Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Safflower + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together90 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,787 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

Swap the safflower

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sake, onion, pepper, tomato, sauce, sugar, cream):

Garlicfits better
Gingerfits better
Corianderfits better
Safflowerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sake, onion, pepper, tomato, sauce, sugar, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Sake	1 oz (30ml)	39
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Safflower	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Creamy Habanero & Tomato SoupCreamy Habanero and Tomato Soup