Name: Escarole with Bacon, Dates, and Warm Walnut Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 7- to 8-ounce head of escarole, coarsely torn; 6 Medjool dates, halved, pitted, diced; 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted; 5 bacon slices, cut crosswise into strips; 1/3 cup walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil; 1 large shallot, chopped; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; Fine sea salt

Why it works: Walnut and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 440 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Escarole with Bacon, Dates, and Warm Walnut Vinaigrette

4 servings

Ingredients

1 7- to 8-ounce head of escarole, coarsely torn
6 Medjool dates, halved, pitted, diced
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
5 bacon slices, cut crosswise into strips
1/3 cup walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Fine sea salt

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

264Calories

4 gProtein

19 gFat

20 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Date	1 date (24g) medjool	66
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By epicurious. 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.

Walnut + shallottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together440 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Dates + walnuttop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together302 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Red wine + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together575 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Shallot + vinegartop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,374 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Shallot + red winetop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together231 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

Swap the dates

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (walnut, shallot, red wine, vinegar):

Pearfits better
Plumfits better
Cherryfits better
Datesthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against walnut, shallot, red wine, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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