Name: Southwest Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients: 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 5 garlic cloves, 2 minced and 3 peeled but whole; 2 teaspoons cumin; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika; dash chili powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch chunks; 2 poblano peppers, seeded, roasted, skinned and diced*; 2 cups corn; 2 red bell peppers, diced; 3 scallions, chopped; 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Why it works: Garlic and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Cumin + sweet potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together232 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Clove + cumintop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,306 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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

Sweet potatoes: Form the bulk of the salad and hold their shape after boiling, giving a firm, tender bite.
Extra-virgin olive oil: Provides fat that carries the vinaigrette flavors and gives the dressing a smooth body.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness of the potatoes and corn.
Corn: Adds sweetness and a juicy, crisp texture to the salad.
Poblano peppers: Contribute a mild, smoky heat and soft texture once roasted.

The step that matters

Cool the sweet potatoes before tossing. Warm potato pieces absorb dressing unevenly and can turn soft and greasy, while cooled pieces hold their shape and keep the vinaigrette on the surface and in the dish's flavor balance.

Swap the sweet potato

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

Capsicumfits better
Tomatofits better
Eggplantfits better
Sweet potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against red wine, vinegar, garlic, clove, cumin, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Southwest Sweet Potato Salad