Name: Rigatoni with Shrimp, Calamari and Basil
Yield: Makes 4 main-course servings
Ingredients: 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined, divided; 14 ounces cleaned calamari (bodies only; tentacles reserved for another use), divided; 12 ounces rigatoni pasta; 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided; 3 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 3 large); 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper; 1 8-ounce bottle clam juice; 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed; 4 tablespoons butter, divided; 1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving); 3/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

Why it works: Pasta and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,079 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. 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.

Pasta + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,079 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Pasta + leektop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Leek + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together150 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, pasta, olive, garlic, clove, pepper, clam):

Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Chivefits better
Leekthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Clam	100g cooked	148
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Romano Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1

Rigatoni with Shrimp, Calamari and Basil