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Salad

Tuna and White Bean Salad

A salad of white cannelloni beans, red onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, and tuna.

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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Tuna and White Bean Salad

Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Make the salad

  1. Mix beans, onion, garlic and parsley with the olive oil.

  2. Season with salt and pepper.

  3. Arrange tuna on top, mixing lightly without mashing.

Rest

  1. Allow to stand for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

382Calories
22 gProtein
27 gFat
13 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Red Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

White beans
Provide the bulk and creamy body of the salad.
Tuna
Adds savory richness and substance; keeping it in flakes preserves a pleasant texture.
Olive oil
Carries the aromatics and coats the beans, adding moisture and fat-soluble flavor.
Red onion
Adds sharp, pungent bite that mellows as the salad stands.
Garlic
Contributes pungent aroma that spreads through the oil during resting.

The step that matters

Mixing the tuna lightly. Tuna flakes break apart easily; vigorous stirring or mashing turns the salad pasty and makes the texture uneven. Gentle folding keeps the pieces distinct.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, onion, garlic, parsley, olive, pepper):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Rosemaryfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, onion, garlic, parsley, 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.

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