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Texas Toast Asparagus Crab Melt

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By paninihappy · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and asparagus match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 213 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The recipe

Prep5 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F (204°C) with a rack in the upper third.

  2. Drain the crabmeat and pick out any shell. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, paprika and cayenne, then gently fold in the crab and season with kosher salt to taste.

  3. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, then spread in one layer on a baking sheet.

  4. Roast the asparagus for 6 minutes, until bright green and just starting to tender.

  5. Combine the cheddar and Monterey Jack in a bowl.

  6. Spread the softened butter over one side of each Texas Toast slice and place buttered side up on a second baking sheet. Toast for 3 minutes.

  7. Spread the crab mixture evenly over the toast. Lay the asparagus on top and sprinkle with the cheese blend.

  8. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. The crab is already cooked, so heating it through is enough.

By paninihappy. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Mustard + asparagustop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together213 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Cheddar cheese + cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together984 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Butter + cheddar cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,434 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Butter + cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together7,955 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, pepper, asparagus, olive, butter, cheddar cheese, cheese):

  1. Avocadoabout as good a flavor fit
  2. Grapeabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Lemonthe original
  4. Appleabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, pepper, asparagus, olive, butter, cheddar cheese, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).