Why it works: Broccoli and green beans share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 41 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (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.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pappardelle and cook until just tender, about 9 to 11 minutes. Before draining, reserve 2 tablespoons of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and asparagus and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes until bright green and just tender. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add the broccoli florets and green beans and cook over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until crisp-tender.
Add the garbanzo beans and green onions to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, to warm the beans through.
Return the zucchini and asparagus to the skillet. Add the drained pappardelle, the reserved 2 tablespoons pasta water, and the chopped basil. Toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the pasta is coated and glossy.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among four bowls and top each with crumbled feta cheese. 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.
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Broccoli + green beanstop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
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Green beans + beanstop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together36 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Asparagus + beanstop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together292 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,868 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Asparagus + broccolitop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together123 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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 (pasta, olive, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, beans, basil):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Spinachbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, olive, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, beans, basil. 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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