Name: Spring Greens and Shaved Celery Salad
Ingredients: 1 small shallot, finely chopped; 3 olive oil; 2 Sherry vinegar; Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper; 3 celery stalks, shaved with a mandoline or very thinly sliced, plus 1/4 cup celery leaves; 1 small bunch arugula, stems trimmed, leaves torn; 2 chopped pitted green olives; 2 grated Pecorino or Parmesan (optional)

Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Spring Greens and Shaved Celery Salad

Ingredients

1 small shallot, finely chopped
3 olive oil
2 Sherry vinegar
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
3 celery stalks, shaved with a mandoline or very thinly sliced, plus 1/4 cup celery leaves
1 small bunch arugula, stems trimmed, leaves torn
2 chopped pitted green olives
2 grated Pecorino or Parmesan (optional)

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

291Calories

12 gProtein

22 gFat

8 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 11 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery Stalks	1 stalk (40g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Arugula	1 cup (20g)	5
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By bonappetit. 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.

Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Shallot + olivetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,659 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Shallot + celerytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together459 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Olive + celerytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,667 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

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

Swap the arugula

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shallot, olive, sherry, vinegar, pepper, celery):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Lettucefits better
Arugulathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shallot, olive, sherry, vinegar, pepper, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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