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Cheese & Spinach Penne with Walnut Crumble

A twist on macaroni cheese, with added veg and a crunchy topping of bread and nuts - make in batches and freeze

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Cheese & Spinach Penne with Walnut Crumble

Why it works: Nutmeg and walnut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,230 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Cheese & Spinach Penne with Walnut Crumble

Serves 8
Prep15 min
Cook55 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

911Calories
31 gProtein
34 gFat
120 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3

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.

  1. Nutmeg + walnuttop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,230 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Leek + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together21 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Leek + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together152 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (leek, butter, flour, nutmeg, milk, bread, walnut):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Parsnipfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against leek, butter, flour, nutmeg, milk, bread, walnut. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.