Why it works: Pumpkin and sage work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 259 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Halve or cube the 450g pumpkin, toss with the olive oil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper, and roast on a tray for 35-40 minutes until soft and lightly browned. Cool.
Mash or blend the roasted pumpkin until smooth. Crush the amaretti finely and mix into the pumpkin with the breadcrumbs, parmesan, nutmeg, 1 medium egg and a little salt and pepper. Chill for 20 minutes.
Mix the flour and ¼ tsp salt on a clean surface and make a well. Add 4 medium eggs and the ½ tsp olive oil, then work into a smooth dough, about 8-10 minutes by hand.
Wrap the dough and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll it out very thinly into two long sheets, dusting lightly with flour as needed.
Beat the 2 medium eggs with a splash of water. Place small spoonfuls of filling about 5cm (2 inches) apart on one sheet, brush around them with the egg wash, cover with the second sheet, press out air and seal, then cut into squares.
Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli in batches for 3-4 minutes until the pasta is tender and the filling is hot through, reaching 160°F (71°C) in the centre.
Melt the 75g unsalted butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes until the butter foams and the sage turns crisp. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Lift the ravioli out with a slotted spoon, toss gently in the sage butter, and serve immediately.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Pumpkin + sagetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together259 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Pepper + sagetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Nutmeg + sagetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together642 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Fennel + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together96 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Fennel + sagetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together88 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the fennel
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pumpkin, olive, egg, nutmeg, pepper, flour, butter):
- Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Cardamombetter flavor fit
- Fennelthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pumpkin, olive, egg, nutmeg, pepper, flour, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.