Why it works: Bread and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,013 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 10Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (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.
Let the dough sit covered at room temperature for about 60 minutes until soft and easy to stretch.
Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C) and set a rimmed baking sheet inside to heat.
Stir the olive oil and minced garlic together in a small bowl.
Press the dough onto an oiled baking sheet into a rough rectangle, dimple it with your fingertips, and brush it with some of the garlic oil.
Spread the drained fire roasted tomatoes over the dough and scatter the chopped sweet red peppers on top.
Crumble the feta over the top and sprinkle with the shredded asiago cheese.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are golden and the cheese is bubbling.
Scatter the chopped spinach and cilantro over the hot focaccia, drizzle with the remaining garlic oil, and cool 5 minutes before slicing.
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.
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Bread + tomatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,013 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,164 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Feta cheese + cheesetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together113 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Olive + feta cheesetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,438 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,075 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, olive, garlic, tomato, feta cheese, cheese, pepper):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionabout as good a flavor fit
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, olive, garlic, tomato, feta cheese, cheese, pepper. 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).
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