Why it works: Beef and spinach work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 490 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
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 skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef pieces and brown 2 to 3 minutes per side, then move them to a plate.
In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the sliced onion and chopped red pepper for 5 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Stir in the cream of mushroom soup, water, balsamic vinegar and rosemary, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Return the beef and any juices to the skillet. Cover and simmer 8 minutes, until the beef reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part. Let rest 3 minutes.
Stir the baby spinach into the sauce and cook 1 to 2 minutes until wilted.
Serve the steak and sauce spooned over hot mashed potatoes.
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.
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Beef + spinachtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together490 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Garlic + spinachtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanol (resin, flower).
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Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Olive + rosemarytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,489 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the rosemary
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, beef, onion, pepper, garlic, cream, vinegar):
- Rosemarythe original
- Thymeabout as good a flavor fit
- Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
- Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, beef, onion, pepper, garlic, cream, vinegar. 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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