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Baked Tilapia with Arugula and Pecan Pesto

"Having lived in the culinary paradise known as Vietnam for a few years has inspired me to experiment with a variety of Asian fusion dishes; this is one of my favorites. Most of these ingredients are abundant in the US as well as in Vietnam. This unique pesto gives the Tilapia a tantalizing flavor. Hope you enjoy!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Arugula and olive work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 655 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

The recipe

4 servings
Prep20 min
Cook20 min

Ingredients

Contains: milk, tree nuts, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the center.

  2. Make the pesto: in a food processor, combine 3 cups arugula, the minced garlic, chopped pecans, 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, the black pepper, a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. Pulse while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until a coarse paste forms.

  3. Pat the tilapia fillets dry and season both sides lightly with sea salt to taste.

  4. Arrange the fillets in a baking dish and spread the pesto evenly over the top of each fillet.

  5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part and flakes easily with a fork.

  6. While the fish bakes, toss the 1/2 cup arugula with the 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano and a small splash of lemon juice.

  7. Serve each fillet topped with a small handful of the dressed arugula salad.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Arugula + olivetop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together655 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  2. Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Olive + lemontop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together10,849 recipes

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

  5. Olive + cheesetop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,530 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (arugula, garlic, pecans, olive, cheese, pepper):

  1. Avocadoabout as good a flavor fit
  2. Figabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Cherryabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against arugula, garlic, pecans, olive, cheese, pepper. 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).