Name: Harissa Lamb & Pepper Kebabs
Prep time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp harissa paste; 400g lamb steak, trimmed of any fat and chopped into chunks; 2 red peppers , chopped into large chunks; 2 red onions , each cut into 8 wedges through the root so the wedges don't fall apart; 250g couscous , flavoured or plain; PLUS 1 tbsp olive oil

Why it works: Onion and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,779 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Harissa Lamb & Pepper Kebabs

Serves 4

Prep15 min

Ingredients

2 tbsp harissa paste
400g lamb steak, trimmed of any fat and chopped into chunks
2 red peppers , chopped into large chunks
2 red onions , each cut into 8 wedges through the root so the wedges don't fall apart
250g couscous , flavoured or plain
PLUS 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

889Calories

58 gProtein

50 gFat

48 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lamb	100g cooked	294
Beef	100g cooked	250
Couscous	1 cup cooked (157g)	176
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Harissa	not in our table	0

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

By bbcgoodfood. 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.

Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lamb + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,165 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

Swap the harissa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, pepper, onion, olive):

Garlicfits better
Cuminfits better
Parsleyfits better
Harissathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, pepper, onion, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.