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Salad

Melitzanosalata

A Greek salad made from roasted eggplant, garlic, and olive oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Eggplant and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 801 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Melitzanosalata

Ovennormal oven
Timeabout 40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Roast the eggplant

  1. Roast the eggplants in a normal oven until they are very soft, about 40 minutes.

  2. Slice the roasted eggplants in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl.

Make the salad

  1. Press the garlic cloves in a garlic press and spread the garlic over the eggplant flesh.

  2. Mix the garlic and eggplant together with a fork, adding olive oil a little at a time until the oil is absorbed.

  3. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator and serve sprinkled with parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

158Calories
1 gProtein
14 gFat
10 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Garlic1 clove (3g)4

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. Eggplant + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together801 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together943 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Eggplant + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together154 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Garlic + clovetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Roasting softens the flesh so it can be mashed into a smooth, creamy texture.
Olive oil
Added gradually, it is absorbed into the eggplant, adding richness and a smooth texture.
Garlic
Pressed garlic adds sharp, pungent aroma and flavour to the eggplant.

The step that matters

Roast the eggplants until very soft. Eggplant flesh must be fully cooked through to become tender and mash smoothly. Underdone flesh stays firm and watery, giving a coarse, less creamy salad.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, garlic, olive):

  1. Oreganofits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, garlic, olive. 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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