Name: Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: Serves 4 (side dish)
Ingredients: 2 crookneck or yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices; 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices; 1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices; 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided; Salt and pepper; 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar; 12 basil leaves, chiffonaded (rolled, then thinly sliced); 12 mint leave, chiffonaded; 1/3 cup crumbled, good-quality feta cheese

Why it works: Eggplant and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 271 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓

Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad Recipe

Serves 4 (side dish)

Prep15 min

Cook10 min

Ingredients

2 crookneck or yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
12 basil leaves, chiffonaded (rolled, then thinly sliced)
12 mint leave, chiffonaded
1/3 cup crumbled, good-quality feta cheese

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

293Calories

9 gProtein

23 gFat

14 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Feta Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

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

By cookincanuck. 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.

Eggplant + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together271 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together943 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Pepper + basiltop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,294 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Olive + feta cheesetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,482 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

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

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, olive, pepper, vinegar, basil, feta cheese):

Oreganofits better
Garlicfits better
Dillfits better
Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, olive, pepper, vinegar, basil, feta cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.