Name: Olive Pasta and Fresh Fig and Baby Spinach Salad
Ingredients: 1 x 6 ounces thin pasta, (capellini); 1/2 cup green olive, quartered; 1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced; 1/3 cup green bell pepper, diced; 2 x cloves garlic, minced; 1 dsh cayenne; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 1/2 tbl flour; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/3 ,cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Why it works: Pasta and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,079 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. 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.

Pasta + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,079 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Pasta + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,227 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Pasta + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together659 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Thin pasta (capellini): Forms the bulk of the dish and carries the coating of oil and vegetables.
Flour: Thickens the oil and vegetable mixture into a light coating that clings to the pasta.
Extra virgin olive oil: Adds fat and smooth richness that carries the flavors of the garlic and vegetables.
Green olives: Contribute briny, salty flavor and a firm texture throughout the salad.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens as it cooks gently in the pan.
Parmesan cheese: Adds salty, savory depth and melts slightly into the coating for extra richness.

The step that matters

Add the Parmesan last. Toss the cheese in at the last minute, off the heat. Prolonged high heat can make the cheese's proteins tighten and separate, so it clumps and turns greasy instead of melting smoothly.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, olive, pepper, garlic, flour, parmesan cheese):

Capersfits better
Basilfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, olive, pepper, garlic, flour, parmesan cheese. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Olive Pasta and Fresh Fig and Baby Spinach Salad