Name: Papa Felico's Garlic Sausage Bread
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage; 1 loaf Italian bread, cut in half lengthwise; 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced; 1 cup roasted red bell pepper strips; 1 (8 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, sliced; 1/4 cup sliced green olives; 1/4 cup sliced black olives; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 tablespoon dried basil; 1 pinch salt; 1 pinch ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons diced red onion; 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Why it works: Oregano and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

Swap the oregano

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, tomato, pepper, mozzarella cheese, olive, vinegar, basil):

Garlicfits about as well
Oreganothe original
Thymefits about as well
Parsleyfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, tomato, pepper, mozzarella cheese, olive, vinegar, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Papa Felico's Garlic Sausage Bread