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Mediterranean Orzo Salad

I love a good orzo salad, and this is one of my favorites because it's tangy and fresh and there are approximately fourteen m...

By thepioneerwoman · From Open Recipes · 12 ingredients
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Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Why it works: Garlic and pasta match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,079 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Serves 12
Prep2 hr

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

890Calories
28 gProtein
28 gFat
141 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Chickpea1/2 cup canned (120g) drained134
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Feta Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Cherry1 cup (138g)87
Red Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 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 thepioneerwoman. 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 + pastatop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,079 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Olive + pastatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

Swap the grape

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, lemon, clove, garlic, pepper, pasta, feta cheese):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Cherryfits better
  4. Grapethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, lemon, clove, garlic, pepper, pasta, feta cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.