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Beetroot Salad with Goats' Cheese

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beetroot and cheese work together. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and 120 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4
Prep1 hr
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Peel the beetroot and cut it into thick wedges. Toss with the sea salt and a little of the olive oil, spread on a tray and roast for about 25 minutes until tender.

  2. While the beetroot roasts, tear the granary bread into rough chunks. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and black pepper, and spread on a second tray.

  3. Put the sultanas in a small bowl, cover with a splash of boiling water and leave for 10 minutes to plump. Drain well.

  4. Toast the bread in the oven for about 5 minutes until crisp and golden, then set aside to cool.

  5. Whisk the balsamic vinegar with the juice of the lemon, the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Shred the basil leaves.

  6. Toss the warm beetroot with the dressing and sultanas. Crumble the goats' cheese over the top, scatter with the croutons and basil, and serve.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Beetroot + cheesetop 17% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together120 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Lemon + basiltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,820 recipes

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

  3. Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Pepper + basiltop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together5,292 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,868 recipes

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

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

Flavor stand-ins for the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beetroot, olive, bread, pepper, vinegar, cheese, basil):

  1. Cherryabout as good a flavor fit
  2. Lemonthe original
  3. Orangeabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Mangoabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against beetroot, olive, bread, pepper, vinegar, cheese, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).