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Confetti Macaroni Casserole

A casserole of whole wheat elbow macaroni, tofu, mayonnaise, diced daikon, celery, carrot, bell pepper, scallions, topped with kale and sunflower seeds.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Confetti Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cook noodles according to package directions.

  2. Drain, rinse and chill.

Combine and serve

  1. Place tofu in a bowl with noodles and mayonnaise.

  2. Gently fold in daikon, celery, carrot, pepper and scallions.

  3. Line a bowl with kale and spoon in noodle mixture.

  4. Sprinkle with seeds and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

432Calories
24 gProtein
25 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 11 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sunflower Seed1 oz (28g) hulled165
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Macaroninot in our table0
Wheatnot in our table0
Daikonnot in our table0

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. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  3. Kale + sunflowertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together26 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Carrot + sunflowertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together279 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Whole wheat macaroni
Forms the bulk of the salad and provides its chewy, starchy base.
Tofu
Adds soft, protein-rich body and a mild, creamy texture to the mixture.
Eggless mayonnaise
Binds the noodles and tofu together and keeps the salad moist.
Sunflower seeds
Add a crunchy texture and nutty flavour as a topping.

The step that matters

Drain, rinse and chill the noodles. Rinsing cooked pasta stops the cooking and washes off surface starch that would make it gummy. Chilling firms the noodles so they hold their shape and do not turn soft when mixed with the mayonnaise and vegetables.

Swap the kale

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, tofu, celery, carrot, pepper, sunflower):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Kalethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, tofu, celery, carrot, pepper, sunflower. 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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