Why it works: Lime and green beans work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 17 recipes mention both. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, shellfish (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.
Combine the 4 peeled garlic cloves and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small saucepan and warm over low heat for about 8 minutes until the garlic is soft and pale golden, not browned. Remove the garlic, mash it, and return it to the oil.
Whisk the mashed garlic and garlic oil with the key lime juice, the rosemary leaves finely chopped, the 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, and about half the cracked black pepper to make the dressing. Set aside.
Boil the trimmed green beans in a pan of boiling water for 4 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain and cool quickly under cold running water.
Pat the shrimp dry. Heat the second 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, add the minced garlic clove, and cook 30 seconds. Add the shrimp, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until opaque and reaching 145°F (63°C).
Toss the cooled green beans and thinly sliced onion with half of the dressing in a serving bowl.
Arrange the warm shrimp over the green beans. Scatter the crumbled feta on top, drizzle with the remaining dressing, and finish with the remaining black pepper. Serve right away.
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.
-
Lime + green beanstop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,491 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
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 onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, olive, lime, rosemary, shrimp, green beans, pepper):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, olive, lime, rosemary, shrimp, green beans, 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.