Name: Broiled Tilapia with Brava Sauce Recipe
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup small-dice yellow onion (from about 1/2 medium onion); 3 medium garlic cloves , finely chopped; 1 teaspoon hot paprika; 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/4 cup water; 1 teaspoon kosher salt , plus more as needed; 1 bay leaf; 1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar , plus more as needed; Several dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce , plus more as needed; 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 1/2 pounds); Freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Tomato and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,164 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

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.

Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together14,164 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,030 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Tomato + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together14,075 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together23,449 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tomato + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together17,913 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, olive, garlic, pepper, sugar, sherry, vinegar):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, olive, garlic, pepper, sugar, sherry, vinegar. 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).

Broiled Tilapia with Brava Sauce Recipe