Name: Scallion and Olive Orzo
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups uncooked orzo; 10 cups water; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 scallions (white and light green parts), chopped; ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Scallion and Olive Orzo

Ingredients

1 ½ cups uncooked orzo
10 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 scallions (white and light green parts), chopped
¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

157Calories

2 gProtein

12 gFat

12 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By biggirlssmallkitchen. 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.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28,563 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Olive + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,887 recipes

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

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

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, butter, pepper):

Parsleythe original
Thymefits about as well
Rosemaryfits less well
Garlicfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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