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Quinoa, Lentil & Feta Salad

Quinoa, a protein-rich seed, makes a great substitute for rice or couscous

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Quinoa, Lentil & Feta Salad

Why it works: Quinoa and lentils share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Quinoa, Lentil & Feta Salad

Serves 4
Prep15 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

588Calories
19 gProtein
27 gFat
70 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Quinoa1 cup cooked (185g)222
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Feta Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Tarragon1 tsp dried (0.5g)2
Green Lentilnot in our table0

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

By bbcgoodfood. 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.

  1. Quinoa + lentilstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Quinoa + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together25 recipes

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

  3. Shallot + tarragontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together602 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Shallot + lentilstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together20 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Quinoa + cucumbertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together85 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (quinoa, olive, shallot, tarragon, lentils, cucumber, feta cheese):

  1. Kalefits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against quinoa, olive, shallot, tarragon, lentils, cucumber, feta cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.