Name: Spice-Coated Rack of Lamb for Two with Arugula, Avocado, and Blood Orange Salad
Yield: Makes 2 servings
Ingredients: 1 heaping tablespoon whole cumin seeds; 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 tablespoon mild-roast coffee, finely ground; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 (8-bone; 24-to 26-ounce) rack of lamb; 3 tablespoons canola oil; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with back of knife; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; Juice of 1 blood orange (about 1/4 cup); 1 tablespoon shallot, minced (from 1 small shallot); 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 firm but ripe Haas avocado, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices; 2 cups (1 ounce) loosely packed baby arugula leaves; 1 blood orange, peeled, segmented, and seeded; Special equipment: heavy-duty aluminum foil

Why it works: Cumin and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

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.

Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cocoa powder + coffeetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together541 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Cumin + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,382 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cumin + lambtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together492 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

Swap the cumin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cocoa powder, coffee, pepper, lamb, canola oil, butter, garlic):

Cinnamonfits about as well
Cuminthe original
Cardamomfits about as well
Thymefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against cocoa powder, coffee, pepper, lamb, canola oil, butter, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lamb	100g cooked	294
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Arugula	1 cup (20g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Coffee	not in our table	0

Spice-Coated Rack of Lamb for Two with Arugula, Avocado, and Blood Orange Salad