Why it works: Pistachio and basil work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and 29 recipes mention both. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: pasta
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Cook the whole grain angel hair according to the package directions until just tender, usually 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve a splash of the cooking water, then drain.
While the pasta cooks, put the pistachio nuts, garlic clove, basil leaves and grated Parmigiano Reggiano into a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
With the processor running, slowly add about two-thirds of the olive oil until the pesto is spreadable. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
In a bowl, toss the quartered cherry tomatoes and sliced kalamata olives with the remaining olive oil. Season lightly with salt and black pepper.
Return the drained pasta to the warm pot. Add the pesto and a splash of the reserved cooking water, then toss until the pasta is evenly coated. Adjust salt and pepper.
Divide the pasta among four plates and spoon the tomato and olive mixture over the top. 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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Pistachio + basiltop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together29 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Basil + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,292 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,868 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Pistachio + nutstop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together425 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the nuts
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, cheese, pistachio, basil, pepper, cherry tomato):
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Chickpeabetter flavor fit
- Cashew nutbetter flavor fit
- Nutsthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, cheese, pistachio, basil, pepper, cherry tomato. 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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