Name: Beet Pesto Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients: 3 large purple beets, tops trimmed; 3 cloves garlic; 1⁄2 cup whole raw pistachio nuts, plus 2 tablespoons chopped, for garnish (or you can use peeled almonds); 1⁄4 cup lemon juice; 1⁄4 cup olive oil; 1 cup finely grated Parmesan; kosher salt; 1 pound spaghetti

Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Beet Pesto Pasta

4-6 servings

Prep10 min

Cook30 min

Ingredients

3 large purple beets, tops trimmed
3 cloves garlic
1⁄2 cup whole raw pistachio nuts, plus 2 tablespoons chopped, for garnish (or you can use peeled almonds)
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
1⁄4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
kosher salt
1 pound spaghetti

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

446Calories

18 gProtein

34 gFat

22 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pistachio	1 oz (28g / ~49 kernels)	159
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Beet	1/2 cup (85g)	35
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
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 aspicyperspective. 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.

Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pistachio + lemontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together431 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Pistachio + olivetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together299 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,922 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Garlic + lemontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,893 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 (garlic, pistachio, lemon, olive):

Capersfits better
Cardamomfits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

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

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