Name: Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling; 1/2 pound spring onions or green onions (dark green parts discarded); white parts cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, pale green parts cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; 2 tablespoons minced shallot; Coarse kosher salt; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth; 1 1/2 pounds asparagus, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces; 2 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 2 pounds peas in pods); 1 pound campanelle (trumpet-shaped pasta) or medium (about 1-inch) shell-shaped pasta; 1 head of butter lettuce or Boston lettuce (about 6 ounces), cored, leaves cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices; 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling; 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley; 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Why it works: Shallot and asparagus match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 137 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 + asparagustop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together137 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together808 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Shallot + peastop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together173 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
Olive + asparagustop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,096 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Onion + shallottop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,431 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, olive, shallot, white wine, chicken, asparagus, peas):

Leekfits better
Chivefits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, olive, shallot, white wine, chicken, asparagus, peas. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Peas	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Asparagus	6 spears (90g)	27
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto