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Sautéed Asparagus, Toasted Almonds & Manchego Cheese

This springtime starter is a simple but effective combination of just five ingredients

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 5 ingredients
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Sautéed Asparagus, Toasted Almonds & Manchego Cheese

Why it works: Asparagus and lemon work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 704 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Sautéed Asparagus, Toasted Almonds & Manchego Cheese

Serves 6
Prep20 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)

261Calories
11 gProtein
22 gFat
10 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Asparagus6 spears (90g)27
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Manchegonot 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. Asparagus + lemontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together704 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Asparagus + almondtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together94 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Butter + manchegotop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, butter, almond, manchego):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Cherryfits about as well
  4. Lemonthe original

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