Name: Minted Carrot and Green Bean Salad
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon mint, chopped; 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar; pepper; 1 carrot (or half a can of carrots); 1 handful green beans, chopped into 1" pieces (or half a can)

Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Minted Carrot and Green Bean Salad

Timeabout 4 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoon mint, chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
pepper
1 carrot (or half a can of carrots)
1 handful green beans, chopped into 1" pieces (or half a can)

Directions

Whisk together the first five ingredients for the dressing.
If using a fresh carrot, boil it for about 4 minutes, then drain.
Pour dressing over carrots and green beans.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

188Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

15 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Peppermint	not in our table	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.

Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + green beanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together197 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Olive + green beanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together226 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

Carrot: Gives the salad its main crunchy texture and mild sweetness.
Green beans: Adds crisp-tender texture and a fresh vegetable base.
Mint: Adds a bright, cool aroma that lifts the dressing.
Olive oil: Carries the flavours and gives the dressing richness and mouthfeel.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.

The step that matters

Boiling the fresh carrot. Boiling softens the carrot's starch and cell structure. Cook it just until tender, then drain well; overcooking makes it mushy and lets it dilute the dressing.

Swap the green beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mint, garlic, olive, red wine, vinegar, pepper, carrot):

Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Cucumberfits better
Green beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mint, garlic, olive, red wine, vinegar, pepper, carrot. 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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Minted Carrot and Green Bean Salad