Why it works: Chicken and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 10,796 recipes mention both. Both carry acetic acid hexyl ester, which smells sweet, green. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, tree nuts, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). In a bowl, toss the chopped pecans with the melted margarine, brown sugar, hot red pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and the pinch of salt until coated.
Spread the coated pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, stirring once halfway, until fragrant and toasted. Set aside to cool.
Rub the chicken breasts all over with the olive oil and Greek seasoning. Place on a second baking sheet and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C).
Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then slice it thinly.
While the chicken cooks, whisk the honey mustard dressing with the lemon juice in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving.
In a large bowl, combine the torn romaine, cherry tomato halves, hulled and halved strawberries, halved grapes, raspberries and blueberries.
Add the sliced chicken and cooled pecans to the greens. Drizzle with the dressing, toss gently and serve right away.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Chicken + olivetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,796 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).
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Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Olive + lettucetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,400 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Lemon + olivetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,849 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Pecans + olivetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together642 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, sauce, sugar, lemon, pecans, chicken, olive):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, sauce, sugar, lemon, pecans, chicken, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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