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Quinoa Pilaf with Green Apples, Dried Cranberries and Pecans

In this recipe I’ve used classic Thanksgiving flavors like apples and cranberries with quinoa, which may not be that familiar as a Thanksgiving ingredient but I think this mix of these ingredients will become an instant classic.

By tastykitchen · From Open Recipes · 14 ingredients
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Quinoa Pilaf with Green Apples, Dried Cranberries and Pecans

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Quinoa Pilaf with Green Apples, Dried Cranberries and Pecans

Serves 12
Prep10 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

655Calories
11 gProtein
20 gFat
108 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Quinoa1 cup cooked (185g)222
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Green Apple1 medium (182g)95
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Maple Syrup1 tbsp (20ml)52
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Pecan1 half (4g)20
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Quinoa + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together289 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (quinoa, olive, onion, celery, clove, garlic, pepper):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Lemonfits better
  4. Applethe original

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