Oolong is considered the connoisseur's choice of tea owing to an incredible breadth of character and complexity across this tea type - from the creamy, floral notes of Iron Buddha - aka Tieguanyin - to the rich and roasted complexity of Big Red Robe.
I love to experiment with the latter when it comes to pairing it with food or, even sometimes, as an ingredient. At JING I developed a short series of Christmas tea recipes and pairings. This one was inspired by my aunt and friend Ann who always has a box of brown sugar meringue in the cupboard. Something about the character of them inspired this combination. It was so good, my colleague polished off four in a row.
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INGREDIENTS
For the meringue
3 eggs whites
3 oz caster sugar
3 oz soft dark brown sugar
For the poached pears
4 conference pears
400ml boiling water
160g caster sugar
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METHOD
For the meringue
Preheat oven to 120. Whisk egg whites until stiff and shiny. Slowly whisk in the sugar ounce by ounce, alternating caster to dark brown. Pipe or dollop into large rounds onto greaseproof paper. Bake in the oven for 2hrs, turn off the temperature and leave in the oven without opening the door for up to 5hrs / overnight
For the poached pears
Infuse the tea with the boiling water for ten minutes, set aside to steep. Peel the pears carefully. Over a medium/hot heat, add sugar and tea. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the pears and cover with paper. Simmer for 20 minutes, turning the pears halfway through. Remove pears and bring liquid back to the boil. Reduce to a thicker syrup. Dollop crème fraiche onto your meringues, top with the pears and spoon syrup over the top.
