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Salad

Pindzhur

A Macedonian salad of roasted peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, salt, and oil.

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Why it works: Tomato and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,076 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Pindzhur

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Toast the pepper, peel it and chop it.

  2. Toast the tomato, then peel it and knead it.

  3. Add the kneaded tomato to the pepper and mix them.

  4. Add toasted eggplant after peeling and chopping it.

Season and serve

  1. Add ground garlic and salt.

  2. Pour the pindžur with the heated oil, stir and put the pindžur in a bowl where you usually put salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

229Calories
8 gProtein
19 gFat
8 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Plantnot in our table0

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 + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Tomato + eggtop 34% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,890 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Pepper
Toasting browns its surface, adding smoky flavour and making the skin easier to peel.
Tomato
Adds moisture and mild acidity, and kneading breaks it down into a loose, spreadable base.
Eggplant (in the method)
Softens when toasted and becomes creamy, giving the salad a soft, rich texture.
Garlic
Contributes a sharp, pungent aroma that becomes milder once mixed into the salad.
Cooking oil
Adds fat that carries flavour and gives the salad a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Toast the pepper. Toasting until the skin blisters and darkens browns the surface, which develops smoky flavour and loosens the skin so it peels cleanly. Undertoasted pepper keeps tough skin and a raw taste.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, tomato, egg):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Basilfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, tomato, egg. 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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