Name: Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Cucumber Salsa
Ingredients: 1/2 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise,; seeded, halved lengthwise again and thinly; sliced crosswise; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered; 1/2 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and; cut into 1-inch julienne; 2 Tbs. chopped shallot or red onion; 1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for; garnish; 1 Tbs. fresh lime juice; 1 1/2 tsp. canola oil; 1 tsp. honey; 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes; 1 tsp. salt; 4 salmon fillets, each 5 oz. and about 1 inch; thick; 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; Lime wedges for garnish

Why it works: Lime and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cucumber + shallottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together264 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Orange + limetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together937 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Shallot + limetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together258 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Cucumber + limetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together649 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Swap the cherry tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, orange, shallot, lime, canola oil, honey, pepper):

Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Mangofits better
Cherry tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, orange, shallot, lime, canola oil, honey, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Orange Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Cucumber Salsa