Name: Sea Bass with Citrus-Olive-Caper Sauce
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 8 sea bass fillets (about 5 ounces each), skin on; 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided; 1 teaspoon salt, divided; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided; 2 lemons, peeled and thinly sliced, segments halved; Juice of 2 lemons; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano; 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed; 3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

Why it works: Lemon and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 784 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Sea Bass with Citrus-Olive-Caper Sauce

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

8 sea bass fillets (about 5 ounces each), skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 lemons, peeled and thinly sliced, segments halved
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

148Calories

1 gProtein

14 gFat

7 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Capers	1 tbsp (9g) drained	2
Salt	1 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 epicurious. 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.

Lemon + oreganotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together784 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + caperstop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,688 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Oregano + caperstop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together133 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Lemon + caperstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,222 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

Swap the capers

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, pepper, lemon, oregano):

Basilfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Thymefits better
Capersthe original

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

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