Name: Green Olive and Almond Spread
Ingredients: ½ cup pitted briny green olives; ¼ cup Marcona almonds or other almonds, toasted; 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon or ½ teaspoon dried; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Why it works: Tarragon and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Green Olive and Almond Spread

Ingredients

½ cup pitted briny green olives
¼ cup Marcona almonds or other almonds, toasted
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Make the spread

Combine olives, almonds, tarragon and lemon juice in a food processor.
Pulse until roughly chopped.
Add oil in a steady stream and process just until the oil is absorbed.
Alternatively, finely chop the olives, almonds and tarragon by hand and combine with lemon juice and oil in a medium bowl.

Rest and store

Let stand for about 30 minutes for the flavor to develop.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

144Calories

1 gProtein

15 gFat

5 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2

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.

Tarragon + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,137 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + almondtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Almond + tarragontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together61 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Olive + tarragontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,323 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Olives: Provide the briny, salty flavor that defines the spread.
Almonds: Add a toasted, nutty crunch and body to the chopped spread.
Extra-virgin olive oil: Adds richness and carries the flavors, binding the chopped mixture together.
Fresh tarragon: Contributes a fresh, aromatic anise-like flavor.

The step that matters

Add the oil in a steady stream. Pouring the oil slowly while processing lets it emulsify and bind with the solids. Adding it all at once can leave the spread greasy and unevenly textured.

Swap the almond

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

Chickpeafits better
Pistachiofits better
Walnutfits about as well
Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, tarragon, lemon. 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.

Lemon Sauce236 recipes

Almond Soup60 recipes

Almond Salad6 recipes

Tomato Soup526 recipes

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Green Olive and Almond Spread