Name: Grilled Veggie and Tofu Stack with Balsamic and Mint
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2/3 cup olive oil; 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves plus sprigs for garnish; 1 12-ounce container extra-firm tofu, cut crosswise into 8 slices, drained on paper towels; 1 zucchini, trimmed, cut lengthwise into four 4-inch-long slices; 1 red bell pepper, rounded ends trimmed, seeded, cut lengthwise into 4 pieces; 1 Japanese eggplant, trimmed, cut lengthwise into four 4-inch-long slices; 4 3-inch-diameter portobello or shiitake mushrooms, stems removed; 1 small head of radicchio, quartered through root end

Why it works: Garlic and eggplant match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 801 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. 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.

Garlic + eggplanttop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together801 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Olive + eggplanttop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together943 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + eggplanttop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together154 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, garlic, clove, olive, tofu, pepper, eggplant):

Basilfits better
Oreganofits better
Turmericfits better
Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, garlic, clove, olive, tofu, pepper, eggplant. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Shiitake	1/2 cup (73g)	34
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Peppermint	not in our table	0
Radicchio	not in our table	0

Grilled Veggie and Tofu Stack with Balsamic and Mint