Why it works: Naan and tomato work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 57 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set a rack in the upper third.
Place the naan on a baking sheet. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over each piece, leaving a small border.
Scatter the mozzarella over the sauce, then add the sliced Roma tomatoes in a single layer.
Sprinkle the crumbled cooked bacon and the grated Parmesan over the tomatoes.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the naan edges are golden and crisp.
While the pizzas bake, toss the arugula with the fresh lemon juice and ground pepper in a small bowl.
Remove the pizzas from the oven and let them rest for 1 minute.
Top each pizza with the dressed arugula and serve right away.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Naan + tomatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together57 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,092 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Tomato + mozzarella cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Tomato + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,490 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Wheat + tomatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together467 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, naan, tomato, sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, arugula):
- Cherrybetter flavor fit
- Avocadobetter flavor fit
- Pumpkinbetter flavor fit
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, naan, tomato, sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, arugula. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.