Why it works: Pumpkin and spinach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 200 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 2Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large lidded pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden.
Stir in the crushed garlic, ground cumin, coriander, curry powder and chilli powder. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the pumpkin chunks and tomato purée and stir to coat. Pour in a splash of water, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is nearly tender.
Add the drained and rinsed black beans and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring gently. Add a splash of water if the pan becomes dry.
Add the washed spinach in handfuls and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.
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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Pumpkin + spinachtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together200 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
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Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,866 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Tomato + beanstop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,711 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Coriander + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,966 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sunflower, garlic, cumin, coriander, pumpkin, tomato, beans):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sunflower, garlic, cumin, coriander, pumpkin, tomato, beans. 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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