Name: Couscous with Clementines, Chickpeas, Olives, and Dates
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups low-salt chicken broth; 1 10-ounce package plain couscous (about 1 2/3 cups); 1 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 clementines; 1 15-ounce can chickpeas; 12 large green olives (such as Cerignola), pitted, quartered lengthwise; 6 Medjool dates, pitted, diced; 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Why it works: Olive and chickpea match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,015 recipes. Both carry methyl butyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Couscous with Clementines, Chickpeas, Olives, and Dates

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 10-ounce package plain couscous (about 1 2/3 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 clementines
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
12 large green olives (such as Cerignola), pitted, quartered lengthwise
6 Medjool dates, pitted, diced
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

664Calories

45 gProtein

20 gFat

77 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Couscous	1 cup cooked (157g)	176
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Chickpea	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	134
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Date	1 date (24g) medjool	66
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Clementine	not in our table	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Olive + chickpeatop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,015 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl butyrate (fruity, apple).
Chicken + olivetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,888 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).
Olive + minttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,240 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Chickpea + minttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together124 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Chicken + chickpeatop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together188 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

Swap the dates

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, chickpea, mint):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Lemonfits better
Datesthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, chickpea, mint. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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