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Tortelloni Minestrone

A green minestrone—one unsullied by tomatoes—is Nigella Lawson’s favorite. The recipe that follows is a remarkably low-effort version with a generous yield: a minor episode of chopping is the prelude to a warming and sustaining meal for many. She specifies that the zucchini should be half-peeled, by which she means taking a vegetable peeler and shaving the skin off in strips, so that you end up with dark- and light-green striped zucchini (it’s how her mother always peeled hers). As for the rest of the veggies, you can really use any you want, treating what’s below as a guide, in which case work on a ratio—give or take—of 6 cups of water per 2 1/4 lb. of vegetables.

By williamssonoma · From Open Recipes · 15 ingredients
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Tortelloni Minestrone

Why it works: Green beans and beans share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 36 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Tortelloni Minestrone

Serves 8.

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

495Calories
15 gProtein
24 gFat
59 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Beannot in our table0

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

By williamssonoma. 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.

  1. Green beans + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together36 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Garlic + spinachtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,435 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Thyme + leektop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together360 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Beans + spinachtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together365 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Leek + spinachtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together42 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

Swap the green beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, thyme, leek, potato, celery, beans, spinach):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Turnipfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Green beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, thyme, leek, potato, celery, beans, spinach. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.