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Meatballs & Pasta

Meatballs are fantastic! They're perfect like this, with a one-minute homemade tomato sauce and spaghetti, but you could also try polenta or simple chunks of fresh crust bread. I like to make meatballs with a mixture of beef and pork, as I think it gives a really wonderful flavour and texture.

By jamieoliver · From Open Recipes · 17 ingredients
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Meatballs & Pasta

Why it works: Rosemary and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 344 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Meatballs & Pasta

4-6

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1397Calories
86 gProtein
63 gFat
116 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 17 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Rosemary1 tsp dried (1.2g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 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 jamieoliver. 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.

  1. Rosemary + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together344 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Rosemary + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,590 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Rosemary + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,324 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Oregano + olivetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,443 recipes

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

  5. Oregano + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rosemary, cream, beef, oregano, egg, pepper, olive):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rosemary, cream, beef, oregano, egg, pepper, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.