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Salad

Summer Salad

A salad of grilled eggplant, green pepper, tomato, celery, potatoes, olives, and a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, pepper, and basil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 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 ↓

Summer Salad

Time½ hour marinating

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Peel and slice the eggplants.

  2. Place the sliced eggplants in a colander and salt lightly.

  3. Let the eggplants stand for ½ hour.

  4. Preheat the grill.

  5. Grill the eggplant slices and green pepper until lightly browned and the pepper skin charred.

  6. Place the green pepper in a paper bag and let stand for ½ hour.

  7. Peel the green pepper under running water.

  8. Dice the eggplant slices and green pepper.

  9. Place the diced vegetables in a large bowl.

  10. Boil the potatoes until tender (about 10 minutes).

  11. Cool the boiled potatoes.

  12. Peel, dice, and place the potatoes in the bowl with other vegetables.

  13. Peel, seed, and chop the tomato.

  14. Chop the celery.

  15. Slice the pitted black olives.

  16. Put the tomatoes, celery, and olives in the bowl.

  17. Mix the bowl contents well.

Dress and marinate

  1. Mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, pepper, and basil.

  2. Pour the dressing over the vegetables in the bowl.

  3. Toss the salad well.

  4. Let the salad marinate at room temperature for at least ½ hour.

  5. Put the salad in the fridge.

  6. Toss and stir the salad occasionally.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

392Calories
8 gProtein
15 gFat
60 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery Stalks1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Olive1 large (4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1

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. Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together943 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Eggplant + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together651 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Grilling softens the slices and adds smoky browning, giving the salad its main body.
Olive oil
Carries fat and flavour through the salad and keeps the vegetables moist.
Red wine vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
Potatoes
Boiled and cooled, they hold their shape in the salad and add starchy bulk.
Black olives
Contribute salty, briny flavour and a fat-rich note to the mix.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that mellows as the salad marinates.

The step that matters

Charring the green pepper skin. The pepper must be charred until the skin blisters so it peels cleanly. Underdone skin clings and tears, while a full char loosens it from the flesh. Resting it in a closed bag traps steam, which further loosens the skin.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, pepper, tomato, celery, olive, red wine, vinegar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, pepper, tomato, celery, 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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