Name: Spaghetti a LA Monegasque
Ingredients: 3 cloves of garlic , peeled; 3 tbsp olive oil; 3 tomatoes , peeled, seeded, and sliced; 2 freshened anchovy fillets; 1 tbsp capers; ¼ cup stoned olives (black or green); 3 sprigs fresh tarragon or basil (or 1 tsp dried); 1 lb uncooked spaghetti; Grated cheese

Why it works: Capers and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 379 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Spaghetti a LA Monegasque

Time3–4 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

Simmer the 3 peeled, whole cloves of garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil.
Add the tomato slices and cook.
Dissolve the anchovies in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan.
Mix in the capers, olives, and tarragon/basil.
Combine the tomato and olive mixture.

Cook and serve

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted water.
Drain the pasta, and return to the pot.
Add the tomato-olive mixture to the pasta, and toss to combine.
Let simmer for 3–4 minutes, then serve immediately.
Serve grated cheese separately and sprinkle on individual servings.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

484Calories

38 gProtein

34 gFat

9 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Anchovy	100g	210
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Capers	1 tbsp (9g) drained	2
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Capers + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together379 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Olive + caperstop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,688 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Break down into a moist, slightly acidic base that coats the pasta.
Anchovies (in the method): Dissolve into the oil to add savory depth without a distinctly fishy taste.
Olives: Add briny, salty flavor and a firm texture to the sauce.
Capers: Add sharp, briny bursts of acidity that cut through the oil.
Spaghetti: Provides the starchy base that the sauce clings to and is served with.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, olive, tomato, anchovy, capers, tarragon, cheese):

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, olive, tomato, anchovy, capers, tarragon, cheese. 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.