Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Pesto

Top flavour pairings and recipes for pesto, according to analysis of thousands of recipes.

Pesto immediately conjures the embrace of basil and the bracing kiss of garlic. But look beneath its obvious umaminess and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of olive, a hint of oleic acid, and subtle accents reminiscent of resin, giving it remarkable depth. The epicurean alchemy unfolds when we pair pesto with ingredients that let these nuances sing.

To chart these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, each deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, pinpointing the notes that best complement this ingredient’s profile. Our findings reveal, for instance, how tuna's glutamic tones can enrich pesto, or how anchovy's oceanic notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the aromatic herbalness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. herbal, floral, and acidic) enhanced by layers of subtle aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim for a mix of core traits to build balance, and select complementary aroma notes to create harmony.

Flavour Pairing Method

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Basil Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between basil and iodine flavours. Since pesto has a distinct basil-like flavour, try pairing it with the oceanic flavours of anchovy.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing pesto with anchovy.

Harmonious Flavours Of Pesto

Just as our statistical analysis showed that basil and oceanic flavour notes often complement each other, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in pesto. For instance, the garlicy notes of pesto are strongly associated with ironny and beefy notes.

The accents complementing the various notes of pesto can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of tuna offers many of the notes complementary to pesto, including glutamic and oceanic aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of tuna has many of the of the features that are complementary to pesto, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of tuna across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with pesto.

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the aroma notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of pesto, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of pesto, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aromas complementary to pesto.

What To Drink With Pesto

The ferrous notes in bull's blood make it a perfect pairing with pesto. Likewise, the oceanic flavours in jura create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of pesto below.

Which Vegetables Go With Pesto?

Choose vegetables that anchor its savoryness or ground its turpentine sweetness. Tomato and beefsteak tomato offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Bell pepper add a gentle, oniony brightness, while roasted red pepper introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with pesto's oiliness. The addition of piquillo pepper, with its subtle cucurbital notes, can complement the oleic acid beautifully, while pea lends a sweet earthy aroma.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Pesto), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.