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Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad

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Why it works: Ham and kale work together. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and 4 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methylbutyraldehyde, which smells malty, chocolate. The science ↓

The recipe

4-6 servings
Prep20 min
Cook12 min

Ingredients

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

  • For the Ham
  • For the Salad
  • For the Dressing

Directions

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

  1. Heat a grill to medium-high, about 400°F (204°C), and lightly brush the grates with a little of the almond oil.

  2. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cumin, coriander and black pepper, then rub the mixture over both sides of the ham steaks.

  3. Grill the ham steaks 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly charred and heated through to 140°F (60°C). Transfer to a plate and let rest 2 minutes.

  4. For the dressing, whisk the orange zest and juice, rice vinegar, remaining almond oil, honey, chives, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined.

  5. Strip the kale leaves from the tough stems and tear them into bite-size pieces. Place them in a large bowl.

  6. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped almonds and toast 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.

  7. Add the cornbread chunks to the skillet and cook 2 minutes, tossing gently, until golden and crisp at the edges.

  8. Pour about half the dressing over the kale and massage it into the leaves for 1 to 2 minutes until softened.

  9. Add the toasted almonds and cornbread to the kale, drizzle with the remaining dressing and toss gently to combine.

  10. Slice the ham steaks if desired and serve alongside the salad.

By aspicyperspective. 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. Ham + kaletop 37% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together4 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).

  2. Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,866 recipes

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

  3. Coriander + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together5,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Cumin + corntop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together798 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Cumin + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,382 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cumin, coriander, pepper, ham, kale, corn):

  1. Beansbetter flavor fit
  2. Chickpeabetter flavor fit
  3. Lentilsbetter flavor fit
  4. Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cumin, coriander, pepper, ham, kale, corn. 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).