Name: Herby Pesto, Bean & Potato Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 500g bag new potatoes , halved; 400g pasta shapes; 225g green beans , trimmed and sliced; 2 tbsp crème fraîche; large bunch mixed herbs (use whatever you have, such as basil, chives, dill, mint, parsley, or rocket - about 25g in total); 3-4 tbsp olive oil; 1 garlic clove , crushed; zest 1 lemon , plus a squeeze of juice; 50g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated, plus extra shaved, to serve

Why it works: Basil and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,823 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Herby Pesto, Bean & Potato Pasta

Serves 6

Prep5 min

Cook20 min

Ingredients

500g bag new potatoes , halved
400g pasta shapes
225g green beans , trimmed and sliced
2 tbsp crème fraîche
large bunch mixed herbs (use whatever you have, such as basil, chives, dill, mint, parsley, or rocket - about 25g in total)
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove , crushed
zest 1 lemon , plus a squeeze of juice
50g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated, plus extra shaved, to serve

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

671Calories

25 gProtein

23 gFat

94 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Chive	1 tbsp (3g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Peppermint	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcgoodfood. 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.

Basil + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,823 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Pasta + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,079 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Basil + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,805 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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 (potato, pasta, green beans, basil, olive, garlic, lemon):

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

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

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