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Healthy Penne with Chicken and Broccoli

Try griddling chicken rather than frying; it’s a healthier way of cooking and adds a great smoky flavour.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and broccoli match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,072 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Healthy Penne with Chicken and Broccoli

Serves 2-3
Prep30 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

489Calories
47 gProtein
25 gFat
20 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1

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

By bbcfood. 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. Garlic + broccolitop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,072 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

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

  3. Broccoli + spinachtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together302 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

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

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

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

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

Swap the broccoli

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, garlic, tomato, pepper, spinach, basil):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Broccolithe original
  4. Okrafits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, garlic, tomato, pepper, spinach, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.