Name: Orzo and Peas Herb Salad
Ingredients: 1 pound orzo pasta; 8 ounces peas; 2 stalks celery, trimmed and diced; 1/2-ounce fresh oregano, chopped; 1/2-ounce fresh chives, chopped; 1/2-ounce fresh parsley, chopped; 3-4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 5 tablespoons lemon juice or juice of one lemon; 2-3 plum tomatoes, diced; Pinch of white pepper; Pinch of salt

Why it works: Pasta and chive share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 72 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. 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 + chivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together72 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Chive + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,149 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pasta + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,079 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,184 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Orzo pasta: Forms the bulk of the salad and gives it a chewy, substantial texture.
Peas: Add sweetness and a tender bite that contrasts with the pasta.
Extra virgin olive oil: Adds fat and richness and helps keep the pasta from sticking together.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the salad and balances the oil.
Lemon juice: Adds sharp acidity and fresh aroma that lifts the flavours.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows as the salad rests.

The step that matters

Rinsing the cooked orzo and peas. Rinsing with cold water stops the pasta and peas from cooking further, keeping them tender rather than soft and mushy. Tossing the orzo with oil while still wet also helps prevent it from clumping.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, celery, oregano, chive, parsley, clove, garlic):

Lentilsfits better
Chickpeafits better
Black-eyed peafits better
Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, celery, oregano, chive, parsley, clove, 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
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Chives	1 tbsp (3g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Orzo and Peas Herb Salad