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The Ultimate Makeover: Spaghetti Carbonara

Italian comfort food without the calories, this recipe is rich and creamy, yet just one third of the fat

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 8 ingredients
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The Ultimate Makeover: Spaghetti Carbonara

Why it works: Garlic and chive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,149 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The Ultimate Makeover: Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 4
Prep15 min
Cook20 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

417Calories
24 gProtein
30 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Chive1 tbsp (3g)1

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. Garlic + chivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,149 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Olive + chivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Clove + chivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together450 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Peas + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,066 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, peas, olive, garlic, chive):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, peas, olive, garlic, chive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.