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Salad

Moroccan Beetroot Salad

A salad of boiled beetroot, onion, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, olives, dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, harissa, salt, pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Moroccan Beetroot Salad

Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beetroot

  1. Trim beetroot.

  2. Cook beetroot in boiling salted water over medium‑high heat for 1 hour.

  3. Remove skins in cold water.

  4. Slice beetroot and combine with onion and garlic in a medium bowl.

Dress and assemble

  1. Combine vinegar, olive oil, harissa, salt, pepper in a bowl and stir vigorously.

  2. Pour half of the dressing over beetroot and toss.

  3. Slice or dice tomatoes and combine with remaining dressing in a bowl, mix gently.

  4. Serve tomato mixture to one side of beetroot.

  5. Sprinkle salad with chopped cilantro and parsley, add black olives, and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

204Calories
3 gProtein
14 gFat
18 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beetrootnot in our table0
Harissanot 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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Beetroot
Cooking softens it and turns it tender, while its sugars give the salad its sweetness.
Olive oil
Carries the harissa and vinegar and coats the beetroot, adding richness and moisture.
Balsamic vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweet beetroot and brightens the dressing.
Tomatoes
Add juiciness and fresh acidity that contrast with the earthy beetroot.
Red onion
Adds sharp, pungent flavour that mellows as it sits in the dressing.
Harissa
Adds heat and smoky, spiced flavour to the dressing.

The step that matters

Cooking the beetroot for 1 hour. Beetroot must be fully tender before peeling and slicing. Undercooked beets stay firm and hard to peel, while a gentle, steady boil cooks them evenly through to the centre.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beetroot, onion, garlic, tomato, parsley, olive, vinegar):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beetroot, onion, garlic, tomato, parsley, olive, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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