Name: Tomato, Bean and Spinach Salad
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 4 cups spinach, torn into bite sized pieces; 2 cups tomatoes, chopped; 1/2 cup red or yellow onion, chopped; 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped; Two 15.5 ounce cans Canellini beans or other type of white beans, drained and rinsed

Why it works: Spinach and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,350 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Spinach + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,350 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together14,164 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,030 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together14,075 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + spinachtop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,433 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-hexanol (resin, flower).

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

What each ingredient does

Spinach: Forms the leafy base of the salad, adding bulk and a mild, fresh flavour.
White beans: Add body and substance, making the salad filling with a creamy texture.
Tomatoes: Contribute juiciness and a bright, slightly acidic flavour to the salad.
Red wine vinegar: Provides the sharp acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.
Olive or vegetable oil: Carries flavour in the dressing and coats the greens for a smooth mouthfeel.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (red wine, vinegar, pepper, olive, garlic, spinach, tomato):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
Broccoliabout as good a flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against red wine, vinegar, pepper, olive, garlic, spinach, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.