Name: Wild Rice with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Eggplant Recipe
Yield: 3 main courses or 6 sides
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups wild rice (about 9 ounces); 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt; 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (from 1 1/2-pound squash); 6 tablespoons olive oil; 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided; 1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white part only); 1 1/2 cups 1/2-Inch Cubes Chinese Eggplant, (1 medium eggplant); 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries; 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Why it works: Wild rice and butternut squash share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Wild Rice with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Eggplant Recipe

3 main courses or 6 sides

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wild rice (about 9 ounces)
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (from 1 1/2-pound squash)
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided
1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white part only)
1 1/2 cups 1/2-Inch Cubes Chinese Eggplant, (1 medium eggplant)
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

534Calories

9 gProtein

26 gFat

71 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Wild Rice	1 cup cooked (164g)	166
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	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 chow. 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.

Wild rice + butternut squashtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + eggplanttop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together943 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Butternut squash + eggplanttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together689 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Wild rice + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together143 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wild rice, butternut squash, olive, butter, eggplant, pepper):

Spinachfits better
Welsh onionfits better
Shallotfits better
Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against wild rice, butternut squash, olive, butter, eggplant, pepper. 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.