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Basil Pesto Chicken, Farro and Nectarine Salad

This flavor-packed summer salad features basil pesto chicken, juicy nectarines, nutty farro, and toasted sunflower seeds served atop a bed of mixed greens with honey balsamic dressing.

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Basil Pesto Chicken, Farro and Nectarine Salad

Why it works: Chicken and sunflower work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 315 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Basil Pesto Chicken, Farro and Nectarine Salad

Serves 2
Prep15 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

505Calories
43 gProtein
19 gFat
41 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Farro1/2 cup cooked (100g)170
Chicken100g cooked165
Sunflower Seed1 oz (28g) hulled165
Arugula1 cup (20g)5
Saladnot in our table0
Nectarinenot in our table0

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. Chicken + sunflowertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together315 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Chicken + arugulatop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Arugula + sunflowertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together9 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Swap the arugula

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, sunflower):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Welsh onionfits better
  4. Arugulathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, sunflower. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.