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Italian Beluga Lentil Salad

Vegetarian salad with black lentils, Italian herbs and goat cheese.

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Why it works: Lettuce and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,409 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4
Prep30 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Contains: milk (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.

  1. Rinse the dried black beluga lentils, then put them in a saucepan with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until tender but still holding their shape.

  2. Drain the lentils and let them cool for about 10 minutes.

  3. Whisk the orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, dried oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make a dressing.

  4. While the lentils are still slightly warm, toss them with half of the dressing so they absorb the flavor. Let them cool to room temperature.

  5. Shred the iceberg lettuce, dice the English cucumber, and tear the fresh basil into pieces.

  6. Combine the lettuce, cucumber and basil in a large bowl, then add the lentils and toss gently.

  7. Crumble the soft goat's cheese over the salad, drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Lettuce + cucumbertop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,409 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,868 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Lentils + lettucetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together51 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanol (resin, flower).

  4. Cucumber + vinegartop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together4,705 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  5. Lettuce + olivetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lentils, lettuce, cucumber, basil, olive, vinegar, honey):

  1. Avocadobetter flavor fit
  2. Cherrybetter flavor fit
  3. Limebetter flavor fit
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lentils, lettuce, cucumber, basil, olive, vinegar, honey. 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).