Name: Mushroom Salad with Walnuts and Watercress
Ingredients: 1 large shallot, finely diced; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; 3 tablespoons walnut or olive oil, divided; pepper; 2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed; 3 tablespoons walnut or extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra; 1 bunch watercress, stems discarded, washed and dried; 3 tablespoons walnuts, roasted and chopped

Why it works: Shallot and watercress share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 93 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Mushroom Salad with Walnuts and Watercress

Time4 minutes per side

Ingredients

1 large shallot, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons walnut or olive oil, divided
pepper
2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
3 tablespoons walnut or extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra
1 bunch watercress, stems discarded, washed and dried
3 tablespoons walnuts, roasted and chopped

Directions

Make the vinaigrette

Heat broiler.
Combine shallot, salt, and vinegar in a bowl.
Whisk 2 tablespoons walnut oil into mixture.
Season to taste with pepper.

Cook the mushrooms

Brush mushrooms with remaining oil.
Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper.
Grill or broil mushrooms 4 minutes per side, 4 inches from heat source.
Cut mushrooms into wide strips.
Toss strips with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette.

Assemble and serve

Arrange watercress and walnuts on salad plates.
Spoon remaining vinaigrette evenly over each.
Arrange mushrooms on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

180Calories

4 gProtein

16 gFat

6 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Watercress	1 cup (34g)	4
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.

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.

Shallot + watercresstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together93 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Shallot + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,982 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Walnut + watercresstop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together71 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Shallot + walnuttop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together440 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Red wine + mushroomtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together720 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).

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

What each ingredient does

Portobello mushrooms: Meaty body that holds its shape under high heat and carries the dressing.
Walnut oil: Adds fat and a nutty aroma that carries through the vinaigrette and dish.
Red wine vinegar: Provides acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
Shallot: Adds a mild, sharp onion flavour to the vinaigrette.
Walnuts: Add crunch and a roasted, nutty flavour to the salad.

The step that matters

Grilling or broiling the mushrooms. Mushrooms hold a lot of water. Cooking them in a hot, uncrowded heat source lets moisture escape so they brown rather than steam, which gives deeper flavour and a better texture.

Swap the walnut

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

Chestnutfits better
Lentilsfits better
Sesamefits better
Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shallot, red wine, vinegar, pepper, mushroom, watercress. 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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Mushroom Salad with Walnuts and Watercress