Skip to main content
Main

Leeks with Olives

Sautéed leeks with olives, tomato sauce, vinegar, and sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

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 ↓

Leeks with Olives

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Clean and wash the leeks, cutting them into medium-sized portions.

  2. Scald the leeks with boiling water, then drain and lightly fry them in oil.

Bake and serve

  1. Add salt, pepper, tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar, and olives.

  2. Bake until the liquid is reduced.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

247Calories
2 gProtein
14 gFat
29 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  3. Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  4. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Leek + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together965 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Leeks
Main vegetable; softened by scalding and frying, then braised until tender in the sauce.
Olives
Add salty, briny flavour and a savoury depth to the sauce.
Tomato sauce
Provides acidity and body, forming the liquid that reduces during baking.
Vinegar
Adds sharpness that balances the sweetness and richness of the oil.
Sugar
Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the sharp and salty flavours.

The step that matters

Bake until the liquid is reduced. Baking long enough lets the liquid thicken into a concentrated sauce that coats the leeks. Stopping too early leaves the dish watery and the flavours diluted.

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, tomato, sauce, olive, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Cucumberfits better
  4. Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, tomato, sauce, olive, pepper. 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.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesCream of Tomato SoupCream of Tomato Soup107 recipesTomato BisqueTomato Bisque61 recipesLeek SoupLeek Soup31 recipes