Name: Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Sandwiches with Basil Olive Pesto
Ingredients: For Sandwiches; 3 ounces dried tomatoes (about 3/4 cup), not packed in oil; a long loaf (about 20 inches) French or Italian bread OR individual loaves of panini; about 1/2 cup basil olive pesto; 6 to 8 ounces veggie chicken or turkey slices; 1/2 bunch arugula, trimmed, washed well, and spun dry (about 1 cup); BASIL OLIVE PESTO; 1 large garlic clove; 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, washed well and spun dry; 1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leaf), washed well and spun dry; 1/3 cup pine nuts; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped fine

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 + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Dried tomatoes: Soaking softens them and adds concentrated, chewy tomato flavor to the sandwich.
Olive oil: Carries the basil and herb flavors and gives the pesto a smooth, emulsified body.
Pine nuts: Add richness and body to the pesto as they blend into a creamy texture.
Fresh basil leaves: Provide the aromatic herb flavor that defines the pesto.
Kalamata olives: Add salty, briny savoriness that balances the sweet tomatoes.
Arugula: Adds a peppery bite and fresh contrast to the rich filling.

The step that matters

Soaking the dried tomatoes. Dried tomatoes that are not fully softened stay tough and leathery in the sandwich. Covering them completely with boiling water and waiting until they are soft lets them rehydrate evenly, and patting them dry keeps excess water from soaking the bread.

Swap the arugula

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, bread, basil, olive, chicken, garlic, clove):

Capsicumfits better
Eggplantfits better
Spinachfits better
Arugulathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, bread, basil, olive, chicken, garlic, clove. 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
Pine Nut	1 oz (28g)	191
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Arugula	1 cup (20g)	5
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Sandwiches with Basil Olive Pesto