Name: Ensalada De Bacalao
Ingredients: 1- lb. boned salted cod fish; 3 to 4 white potatoes (boiled to a firm texture cooled and sliced); 1- Large Spanish onion (peeled and sliced into rings); 3 - Hard boiled eggs (shelled cooled and sliced); 2 to 3 Tomatoes ( washed and sliced ); 1/2 Cup olive oil; 1/2 Cup Spanish olives; 2 to 3 Cloves of garlic (crushed); 1 - Tablespoon of white vinegar; 1 - Small jar of red pimientos ( for garnish only use this after the salad has been completed )

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. 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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 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).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Salted cod: Provides the main protein; soaking and changing the water reduce its salt so it becomes mild and flaky.
Potatoes: Add starchy body and bulk, holding their shape when boiled to a firm texture and sliced.
Olive oil: Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour through the dressing that coats the salad.
White vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and fish.
Hard-boiled eggs: Add creamy texture and richness from the yolks, folded in gently so they stay intact.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that infuses the salad bowl and the dressed ingredients.

The step that matters

Desalting the cod. Salted cod must be soaked overnight and simmered with the water changed twice. Salt draws out slowly, so skipping this leaves the fish too salty to balance the salad.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, potato, onion, egg, tomato, olive, garlic):

Capersfits better
Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, potato, onion, egg, tomato, olive, garlic. 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
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salad	not in our table	0

Ensalada De Bacalao