Name: Pasta Salad with Spinach, Olives, and Mozzarella Recipe
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound orecchiette or conchiglie pasta; 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into small dice; 3 ounces baby spinach (about 4 cups), thoroughly washed and dried; 1 1/2 cups pitted and halved kalamata olives; 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 6 tablespoons olive oil

Why it works: Mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Pasta Salad with Spinach, Olives, and Mozzarella Recipe

6 servings

Ingredients

1 pound orecchiette or conchiglie pasta
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into small dice
3 ounces baby spinach (about 4 cups), thoroughly washed and dried
1 1/2 cups pitted and halved kalamata olives
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

554Calories

25 gProtein

29 gFat

48 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 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.

By chow. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,093 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Pasta + spinachtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together376 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Pasta + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,227 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Spinach + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Spinach + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,400 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

Swap the spinach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, mozzarella cheese, olive, parmesan cheese, red wine, vinegar, pepper):

Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits about as well
Spinachthe original
Eggplantfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, mozzarella cheese, olive, parmesan cheese, red wine, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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