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Picook's Pesto Sauce

A basil, pine nut, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt, and pepper sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Basil and pine match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 332 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Picook's Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Put 1 cup of olive oil and all the other ingredients in the blender.

  2. Turn on the blender and add the remaining olive oil (just until it will start mixing...).

  3. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

431Calories
14 gProtein
40 gFat
7 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pine Nut1 oz (28g)191
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Basil + pinetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together332 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Basil + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,805 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Basil + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Basil
Provides the main fresh, herbal aroma and green colour of the sauce.
Olive oil
Supplies fat that emulsifies the blended leaves into a smooth, spreadable sauce.
Garlic
Adds a sharp, pungent aroma that mellows the sauce's savoury base.
Pine nuts
Add richness and a mild, buttery nutty flavour with a soft texture.
Parmesan cheese
Contributes salty, savoury depth that rounds out the basil.

The step that matters

Adding the remaining olive oil while blending. Blending too long after the oil is added generates heat from the blade, which can darken and bitter the basil. Adding oil only until the mixture starts to move keeps the sauce bright green and fresh-tasting.

Swap the nuts

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (basil, olive, pine, clove, garlic, parmesan cheese, pepper):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Cashew nutfits better
  4. Nutsthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against basil, olive, pine, clove, garlic, parmesan cheese, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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