Name: Salmon and Green Bean Salad
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard; 1/3 cup olive oil; 3 cups cooked green beans; 8 cherry tomatoes; 8 black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped; 1 shallot or 1/4 small onion, diced; 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped; Salt and pepper; 12-ounce salmon steak, grilled or broiled, chilled, or one 12 ounce can; 6 cups mixed salad greens; 1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips

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 ↓

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.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Mustard + shallottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together859 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Shallot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,737 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lemon + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,823 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Basil + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,351 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Olive oil: Forms the body of the dressing, adding richness and a smooth, emulsified texture when whisked in slowly.
Whole-grain dijon mustard: Acts as an emulsifier, helping the oil and lemon juice bind into a stable dressing.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
Salmon: Provides the main protein and a rich, flaky texture to the salad.
Green beans: Contribute bulk and a crisp-tender texture to the salad.

The step that matters

Adding the olive oil. Pouring the oil in a thin, steady stream while whisking lets tiny droplets disperse in the lemon juice and mustard. Adding it all at once can make the dressing separate.

Swap the cherry tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, mustard, olive, green beans, shallot, basil, parsley):

Limefits better
Avocadofits better
Cherryfits better
Cherry tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, mustard, olive, green beans, shallot, basil, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Salad	not in our table	0

Salmon and Green Bean Salad