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Cheese and Pecan Pasta Salad

"This salad gets better the longer sits. It's very addicting and takes a lot of self control to stop eating. Believe me I've seen it happen at many parties."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 15 ingredients
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Cheese and Pecan Pasta Salad

Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Cheese and Pecan Pasta Salad

8 servings
Prep45 min
Cook10 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

637Calories
22 gProtein
56 gFat
15 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 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 allrecipes. 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. Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Basil + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,351 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Oregano + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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 (olive, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, cream, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

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