Name: Grass-Fed Steaks with Kalamata-Olive
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons fruity olive oil, divided; 4 garlic cloves; 2 thinly sliced, 2 pressed; 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper; 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh, broken in half; 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots; 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley; 2 tablespoons finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 to 2 tablespoons water; 2 14-to 16-ounce 2-inch-thick grass-fed New York strip steaks; 2 teaspoons paprika; 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Why it works: Shallot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,737 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Shallot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,737 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + shallottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, pepper, shallot, parsley, red wine, vinegar):

Thymefits better
Tarragonfits better
Capersfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, pepper, shallot, parsley, red wine, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Grass-Fed Steaks with Kalamata-Olive