Name: Roasted Cauliflower, Pomegranate and Pine Nut Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 3
Ingredients: 1 head Cauliflower (1 Pound Size), Cut Into 2-inch Florets; 1 whole Medium Size White Or Red Onion (1 Should Yield About 1 Cup, Cut Into 1/4 Inch Slices); 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil; 1 teaspoon Salt To Taste; 1-½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste; 5 Tablespoons Pine Nuts; 2 stalks Celery, Cut On The Bias Into 1/2 In. Slices; ¼ teaspoons Powdered Allspice; ¼ teaspoons Powdered Cinnamon; ½ cups Pomegranate Arils (for 1/2 Cup You'll Need Roughly 1 Small Pomegranate); 1-½ Tablespoon Balsamic Or Sherry Vinegar; 1-½ teaspoon Maple Syrup Or Honey; 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. 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.

Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + pinetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,062 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,395 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Pine + allspicetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together53 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Celery + allspicetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,422 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the nuts

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cauliflower, onion, olive, pepper, pine, celery, allspice):

Beansfits better
Lentilsfits better
Walnutfits better
Nutsthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cauliflower, onion, olive, pepper, pine, celery, allspice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pine Nut	1 oz (28g)	191
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pomegranate	1/2 cup seeds (87g)	72
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Roasted Cauliflower, Pomegranate and Pine Nut Salad