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Salad

Berry Blue Salad

A fresh salad of baby greens, blueberries, blue cheese, red onion, and a citrus‑olive oil dressing, topped with almonds.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,973 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Berry Blue Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Assemble

  1. Place greens, blueberries, blue cheese and red onion in a serving bowl.

Dress and serve

  1. Whisk together olive oil, orange juice, lemon thyme leaves, shallot if desired, and salt and pepper to taste in a smaller bowl.

  2. Toss salad with the dressing and garnish with roasted, sliced almonds.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

448Calories
12 gProtein
23 gFat
55 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Blue Cheese1 oz (28g)100
Blueberry1 cup (148g)84
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Red Onion1 medium (110g)44
Lemon Thymejuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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. Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

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

  2. Thyme + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,476 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Spinach + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together198 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Baby field greens
Provide the leafy base that gives the salad its body and crisp texture.
Blueberries
Add bursts of sweetness and juiciness that contrast with the sharp cheese.
Blue cheese
Adds salty, tangy richness that balances the sweet blueberries and orange juice.
Extra virgin olive oil
Carries the flavors of the dressing and coats the leaves for a silky mouthfeel.
Orange juice
Adds sweetness and acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the oil.

Swap the shallot

The recipe marks shallot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, blue cheese, onion, olive, orange, lemon, thyme):

  1. Broccolifits about as well
  2. Lettucefits about as well
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, blue cheese, onion, olive, orange, lemon, thyme. 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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