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Kale Salad with Pecorino and Walnuts

As someone who has said things like “the world would be a better place if we could all stop pretending that kale tastes good” (on , in fact) and who is unwaveringly certain that the last thing the internet needs is another kale salad, I am not even sure what I’m doing here. Am I on the wrong blog? But I can’t help it. I had an unforgettable kale salad last weekend and seeing as my life (and undoubtedly various legal statues) does not allow me to move into (believe me, I’m considering it as I type… would they notice? I’ve always wanted more windows…), I had to attempt to riff on it at home. And if I’m going to be making it at home, well, it seems rude to keep it from you. We have no cooking secrets here.

By smittenkitchen · From Open Recipes · 12 ingredients
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Kale Salad with Pecorino and Walnuts

Why it works: Walnut and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,087 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

Kale Salad with Pecorino and Walnuts

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

815Calories
23 gProtein
28 gFat
121 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Leafnot 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 smittenkitchen. 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. Walnut + olivetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,087 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  2. Olive + kaletop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together647 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Clove + kaletop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together95 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Walnut + kaletop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together35 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Walnut + clovetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,592 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (walnut, white wine, vinegar, bread, clove, olive, kale):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Cherryfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against walnut, white wine, vinegar, bread, clove, olive, kale. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.