Name: Butternut Squash Chilli with Quinoa
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 large onion , finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves , crushed; olive oil; 1 tbsp mild chilli powder (Schwartz does a good one with added cumin, oregano and garlic); 1 butternut squash , about 1kg, peeled and cubed; 100g quinoa , soaked in cold water for 10 minutes (available from health food shops and some supermarkets); 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes; 400g tin red kidney beans; a small bunch coriander , chopped

Why it works: Butternut squash and quinoa share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 26 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil
1 tbsp mild chilli powder (Schwartz does a good one with added cumin, oregano and garlic)
1 butternut squash, about 1kg, peeled and cubed
100g quinoa, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes (available from health food shops and some supermarkets)
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
400g tin red kidney beans
a small bunch coriander, chopped

Directions

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

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Butternut squash + quinoatop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together26 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together14,164 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,030 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Oregano + tomatotop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,767 recipes

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

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 (garlic, olive, cumin, oregano, butternut squash, quinoa, tomato):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Spinachbetter flavor fit
Eggplantbetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, olive, cumin, oregano, butternut squash, quinoa, tomato. 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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