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Salad

Adriatic Summer Salad

A fresh salad of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, red onion, basil, olives, and a vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, and herbs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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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 ↓

Adriatic Summer Salad

Timeat least 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Assemble

  1. Arrange half the tomatoes, half the cheese and half the onion slices in a large shallow salad bowl.

  2. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped basil. Top with remaining tomatoes, cheese and onion.

Dress and chill

  1. In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and mustard until blended.

  2. Pour over tomatoes, cheese and onions. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil.

  3. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Serve

  1. When ready to serve, toss and sprinkle with olives and garnish with basil sprig.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

311Calories
10 gProtein
21 gFat
24 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

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

  2. Basil + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,823 recipes

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

  3. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

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

  4. Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

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

  5. Mozzarella cheese + olivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,773 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes
Provide the juicy, acidic body of the salad and moisture that mixes with the dressing.
Mozzarella cheese
Adds creamy, mild richness that contrasts with the acidic tomatoes and dressing.
Fresh basil
Contributes a fresh, aromatic herbal flavour that complements tomato and cheese.
Olive oil
Carries fat and flavour through the dressing and coats the other ingredients.
Red onion
Adds sharp, pungent bite that is mellowed by the marinating time.
Red wine vinegar
Supplies acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil and cheese.

The step that matters

Chill for at least one hour. Resting lets the dressing soak into the tomatoes and softens the sharp raw onion, so the flavours blend. Serving too early leaves the salad tasting harsh and unbalanced.

Swap the lemon

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

  1. Plumfits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Cherryfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, onion, mozzarella cheese, basil, olive, red wine, vinegar. 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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