Why it works: Lentils and kale share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 24 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and shredded carrot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Stir in the dry lentils, vegetable broth and chunky salsa. Raise the heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, partly cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are tender.
Stir in the chopped kale, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes until the kale is wilted and tender.
Season with the cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes before serving.
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.
-
Lentils + kaletop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together24 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Garlic + kaletop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together490 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Carrot + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the carrot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, onion, garlic, lentils, pepper, kale):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Spinachbetter flavor fit
- Broccolibetter flavor fit
- Carrotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, garlic, lentils, pepper, kale. 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).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.