Name: Steak, Beet & Blue Cheese Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 300g thick rump or sirloin steak , room temperature, trimmed of fat; extra-virgin olive oil; 75g creamy blue cheese such as St Agur or Dolcelatte, torn into pieces; 100g baby spinach or mixed salad leaves; 250g cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), cut into wedges; 2 tsp red wine vinegar

Why it works: Spinach and beetroot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 280 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Steak, Beet & Blue Cheese Salad

Serves 2

Prep5 min

Cook5 min

Ingredients

300g thick rump or sirloin steak , room temperature, trimmed of fat
extra-virgin olive oil
75g creamy blue cheese such as St Agur or Dolcelatte, torn into pieces
100g baby spinach or mixed salad leaves
250g cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), cut into wedges
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

479Calories

33 gProtein

37 gFat

2 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Blue Cheese	1 oz (28g)	100
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salad	not in our table	0
Beetroot	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.

Spinach + beetroottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together280 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Olive + spinachtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Olive + beetroottop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together965 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
Vinegar + red winetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together575 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

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

Swap the beetroot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, blue cheese, spinach, vinegar, red wine):

Tomatofits better
Lettucefits better
Mustardfits better
Beetrootthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, blue cheese, spinach, vinegar, red wine. 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.