Name: Smoky California Avocado, Shrimp, and White Bean Gazpacho
Ingredients: 11 Pounds tomatoes, peeled; 2 Pounds cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced. (For Kirby or hot house cucumbers, it is not necessary to peel cucumbers); 1 Pound and 8 ounces red onions, diced; 8 oz shallots; 1 ½ quarts canned tomato juice; 1 ½ Cups extra virgin olive oil; 11/16 Cups sherry wine vinegar; ½ Cup or to taste finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce; 2 Pounds cooked rock shrimp, very coarsely chopped; 1 Pound cooked cannellini beans; 3 California avoacdos, cut in small dice; 2 Tbsp or to taste, salt; Tortilla chips, as needed for garnish; Chopped cilantro, as needed for garnish

Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. 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.

Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Cucumber + shallottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together264 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Tomato + cucumbertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cucumber + olivetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,611 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
Onion + shallottop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,431 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Form the soup's main body and provide its fresh, juicy base.
Extra virgin olive oil: Adds fat and a silky mouthfeel that carries the flavors.
Sherry wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the soup and balances the richness of the oil.
Rock shrimp: Provides cooked protein pieces that add savory flavor and texture.
Cannellini beans: Add creamy body and make the soup more substantial.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: Add smoky heat and depth of flavor.

The step that matters

Chill for 3 hours after salting. Chilling lets the raw vegetables, acid, salt, and chili flavors blend and mellow together, so the soup tastes more balanced. Salt should be stirred in before chilling so it can season the whole mixture evenly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, cucumber, shallot, olive, sherry, wine, vinegar):

Capsicumfits better
Lettucefits better
Chivefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, cucumber, shallot, olive, sherry, wine, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Tortilla Chip	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0
Cannellini Bean	not in our table	0

Smoky California Avocado, Shrimp, and White Bean Gazpacho