Name: Grilled Polenta with White Bean Salad
Ingredients: White Bean Salad; 2 ripe medium tomatoes; 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar; 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; 19-oz. can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained; 1 bunch scallions (white and light green parts), chopped ( 1/2 cup); 1/2 cup slivered fresh basil leaves; 1/4 cup sliced pitted black olives, such as kalamata (2 oz.); 24-oz. log prepared polenta; 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil; Fresh basil sprigs 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).
Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + beanstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,470 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Ripe tomatoes: Supply juice and fresh acidity that dress the bean salad.
White cannellini beans: Add creamy body and substance to the salad.
Prepared polenta: Firms up when sliced and grills to a browned, crisp surface.
Black olives: Contribute salty, savory richness to the salad.
White wine vinegar: Adds sharp acidity that brightens the tomato juices and beans.

The step that matters

Grilling the polenta until nicely browned. Polenta is starchy and can stick or burn if the grill is not hot and well oiled. Oiling the rack and slices, then leaving them undisturbed until they release, builds a browned crust rather than a torn, gummy surface.

Swap the beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, white wine, vinegar, olive, basil):

Beansthe original
Chickpeafits about as well
Sesamefits less well
Lentilsfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, white wine, vinegar, olive, basil. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Bean	not in our table	0
Salad	not in our table	0
Cannellini Bean	not in our table	0

Grilled Polenta with White Bean Salad