Name: Fava Bean Cakes with Diced Red Peppers and Yogurt
Ingredients: 2 cups canned fava beas, drained and rinsed; 1 large egg; 1 onion, peeled and diced; 1 tsp. minced garlic; 1 Tbs. olive oil, plus extra oil for frying; 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour; 2 Tbs. chopped Italian parsley; 1 ½ cups plain low-fat or regular yogurt, for garnish; 1 red pepper, seeded and diced, for garnish

Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 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

Fava beans: Form the main body of the cakes, providing starch and substance once mashed and bound together.
Egg: Binds the chopped beans together so the cakes hold their shape while frying.
All-purpose flour: Absorbs moisture and helps the cakes firm up and hold together in the pan.
Onion: Adds savory sweetness and moisture to the bean mixture as it cooks.
Yogurt: Adds cool creaminess that contrasts with the fried, savory cakes.

The step that matters

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side until firm and slightly brown. The cakes are soft and wet when formed. Letting the first side set and brown before turning builds a crust that holds the cake together and prevents it from breaking apart in the pan.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, garlic, olive, lemon, flour, parsley, yogurt):

Chivefits better
Spinachfits better
Shallotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, garlic, olive, lemon, flour, parsley, yogurt. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Fava Bean Cakes with Diced Red Peppers and Yogurt