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Smoky Eggplant Dip

The first weeks in a are always about comparisons: The living room is smaller; the kid’s room is a little bigger. Our room is narrower and contains only one closet that we must share (uh-oh) but also maybe six inches longer, and in those inches, we no longer routinely stub our toes on our dressers while fumbling around in the morning like the old people we’ve unfairly become. The gets less natural light, but for the strangest reason: a massive leafy oak tree outside, something I’ve walked by at the sidewalk level for over five years and never noticed. What is this, Brooklyn or something?

By smittenkitchen · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Smoky Eggplant Dip

Why it works: Garlic and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Smoky Eggplant Dip

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

332Calories
7 gProtein
27 gFat
22 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tahini1 tbsp (15g)89
Sesame Seed1 tbsp (9g)52
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Toasted Sesame Seednot 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 smittenkitchen. 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. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Eggplant + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together801 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Eggplant + sesametop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together43 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Eggplant + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together93 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

Swap the tahini

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, olive, sesame, garlic, lemon, pepper, cumin):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Lentilsfits better
  3. Cashew nutfits better
  4. Tahinithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, olive, sesame, garlic, lemon, pepper, cumin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.