Why it works: Chicken and sweet potato work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 320 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
2 servingsIngredients
Contains: tree nuts (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 chicken cubes, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 5 to 6 minutes until no longer pink and an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F (74°C) in the thickest piece. Transfer to a plate.
Add the sweet potato to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften and brown at the edges.
Add the pear pieces and minced sage and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until the pear starts to soften.
Pour in the Irish whiskey and let it bubble for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 8 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender when pierced with a fork.
Return the chicken and its juices to the skillet. Stir in the baby spinach and cook for about 2 minutes until wilted and the chicken is hot throughout at 165°F (74°C).
Season with salt and pepper to taste, scatter the chopped toasted hazelnuts over the top, and serve warm.
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.
-
Chicken + sweet potatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together320 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Sage + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Olive + chickentop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,796 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).
-
Sweet potato + spinachtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together126 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Spinach + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,400 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the pear
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, chicken, sweet potato, sage, spinach, hazelnut, pepper):
- Lemonbetter flavor fit
- Limebetter flavor fit
- Avocadobetter flavor fit
- Pearthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, chicken, sweet potato, sage, spinach, hazelnut, pepper. 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.