Why it works: Spinach and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 646 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, tree nuts (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.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook 6 to 8 minutes until browned and their liquid has evaporated.
Add the crushed garlic and cook 1 minute. Pour in the vegetable stock made from the half low sodium stock cube and simmer 3 minutes.
Add the spinach in batches, stirring until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and let the mixture cool slightly.
Stir in the grain mustard, grated nutmeg and crème fraîche. Gently fold in the cooked potato pieces, then spread the filling into a 9-inch pie dish.
Brush each sheet of filo lightly with olive oil, scrunch it loosely and lay it over the filling, overlapping the sheets to cover the top.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the filo is golden and crisp. Meanwhile, steam the green beans and broccoli over boiling water for 5 to 6 minutes until tender-crisp.
Let the pie rest 5 minutes, then slice and serve with the steamed green beans and broccoli.
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.
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Spinach + potatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together646 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Shiitake + garlictop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together292 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Spinach + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanol (resin, flower).
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Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Garlic + potatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,512 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the chestnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, olive, mushroom, shiitake, garlic, potato, mustard):
- Sesamebetter flavor fit
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Chickpeabetter flavor fit
- Chestnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, olive, mushroom, shiitake, garlic, potato, mustard. 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).
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