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Cheese-and-Greens Melt

A sautéed greens and bean mixture topped with a tofu-based cheese sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Chard and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 246 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Cheese-and-Greens Melt

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the greens

  1. Put greens into large saucepan, leaving rinse water on leaves.

  2. Cover and steam over medium heat until completely wilted.

  3. Using tongs, put greens into colander.

  4. Drain, squeeze out excess water with hands and chop coarsely.

Make the filling

  1. Heat oil in large skillet.

  2. Sauté beans and garlic for 5 minutes.

  3. Add sunflower seeds, “bacon” bits and greens.

  4. Cook 5 minutes more.

Make the cheese sauce and serve

  1. Put tofu and soymilk in blender, and purée until smooth.

  2. Pour into saucepan, add cheese and heat until cheese melts.

  3. Put greens mixture on individual plates.

  4. Top with cheese sauce.

  5. Garnish with diced red pepper.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

540Calories
25 gProtein
45 gFat
13 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sunflower Seed1 oz (28g) hulled165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Tofu100g firm76
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Chardnot in our table0
Cannellini Beannot 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. Chard + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together246 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Mustard + chardtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together35 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Chard + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together45 recipes

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

  4. Mustard + beanstop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together852 recipes

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

  5. Mustard + sunflowertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together233 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Mustard greens and chard
Provide the leafy vegetable base, adding bulk and a tender, slightly bitter flavor when wilted.
Cannellini beans
Add starchy body and soft, creamy texture to the filling.
Silken soft tofu
Blends smooth to form the creamy base of the cheese sauce, adding body and moisture.
Shredded soy cheddar cheese
Melts into the blended tofu mixture to give the sauce its cheesy flavor and stretch.
Sunflower seeds
Add crunch and nutty richness to the greens mixture.

The step that matters

Squeeze out excess water from the greens. Leftover water dilutes the filling and makes it watery, so the greens should be drained and squeezed well before they are chopped and cooked.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, chard, beans, sunflower, tofu, cheddar cheese, pepper):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, chard, beans, sunflower, tofu, cheddar cheese, pepper. 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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