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Croatian Ajvar

A roasted pepper and eggplant spread seasoned with garlic, lemon, and olive oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Croatian Ajvar

Oven350°F

Ingredients

Directions

Roast and peel

  1. Bake eggplants and sweet peppers at 350°F until tender when pierced with a fork.

  2. Peel skin from hot vegetables and chop or mince the vegetables.

Season and serve

  1. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the garlic and lemon juice.

  2. Gradually stir in as much of the oil as the vegetables will absorb. Mix well.

  3. Pile into a glass dish and sprinkle with parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

190Calories
2 gProtein
14 gFat
18 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)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.

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. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together943 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Provide the soft, bulky body that makes up most of the spread.
Sweet peppers
Add sweetness and color, and bulk out the vegetable base.
Oil
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture as it is absorbed into the vegetables.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the richness of the oil.
Garlic
Adds a sharp, aromatic flavor that deepens the spread.

The step that matters

Gradually stir in the oil. Oil must be added slowly so the cooked vegetables can absorb it. Adding it all at once can leave the spread greasy and separated instead of smooth and creamy.

Swap the clove

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

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Basilfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, pepper, garlic, lemon, olive, parsley. 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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