Name: Greek Garden Rice Salad
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed), chopped; 3 tablespoons oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes; 3 cups medium grain cooked rice; 1 small red onion, chopped; 1/2 cup drained, pitted and halved Kalamata olives; 2 (4-ounce) packages crumbled Feta cheese with garlic and herbs; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/2 (6 ounce) package baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced

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 ↓

Greek Garden Rice Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed), chopped
3 tablespoons oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes
3 cups medium grain cooked rice
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup drained, pitted and halved Kalamata olives
2 (4-ounce) packages crumbled Feta cheese with garlic and herbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 (6 ounce) package baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced

Directions

Combine sun-dried tomatoes, oil, and rice.
Stir in onion, olives, cheese, salt, and pepper.
Add spinach and toss gently to combine.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

525Calories

15 gProtein

24 gFat

64 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Feta Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,435 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Sun-dried tomatoes: Add concentrated tomato flavour and a chewy texture, with oil that carries flavour through the rice.
Medium grain cooked rice: Forms the body of the salad and soaks up the oil and dressing flavours.
Kalamata olives: Add salty, briny flavour that sharpens the rest of the salad.
Feta cheese: Adds salty, tangy richness and creaminess that binds the salad together.
Baby spinach leaves: Adds fresh, mild green flavour and a tender texture once tossed through.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, rice, olive, feta cheese, garlic, pepper, spinach):

Eggplantfits better
Capsicumfits better
Cucumberfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, rice, olive, feta cheese, garlic, pepper, spinach. 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.