Jasmine green tea poached pears
The challenge of cooking with tea is real. Tea carries so many different and delicate nuances and flavor notes. If you decide to use tea in a dish, it is only fair to allow those nuances to shine through. You want a balanced flavor profile, otherwise what is the point?
There are different ways in which you can incorporate tea into a sweet or savory recipe. Powdered teas like matcha or hojicha are probably the easiest because they are added directly to your other ingredients. End of story. Adjust to taste.
What about all other teas? If the recipe calls for liquid ingredients, like milk or even melted butter, you can try to infuse them with tea. When you are done, you just strain the tea leaves out. No wet ingredients? Try flavoring some salt or granulated sugar by letting them sit in a mason jar with your tea leaves of choice over a period of time. You could also marinate meat or fish with tea or prepare a dry rub with tea leaves. Endless combinations, endless techniques. Nevertheless, it is not easy to predict if the tea subtle nuances will shine through. Testing and experimenting are key here.
Also a word of warning. Sometimes, when cooking with tea, we tend to brew our tea stronger than usual, hoping that this will enhance its flavor. The risk of your tea turning bitter, making your final dish bitter too, is high. Nobody wants that.
When researching for this post, I came across many recipes which called for ginger, cinnamon and orange. I was baffled. Those are strong predominant flavor that can easily overpower jasmine green tea!
I combined my pears with jasmine green tea, saffron and a syrup I made with grains of paradise, one of my favorite spices. They belong to the ginger family, but are much milder and wonderfully floral. The best part is they have some heat that lingers in your mouth in a pleasant way without concealing any other flavor. Enjoy!
Jasmine green tea poached pears
600 ml freshly steeped jasmine green tea
100 g homemade grains of paradise syrup (recipe here)
pinch of saffron threads
4 pears, ripe but firm, peeled with stems attached
serve on honey vanilla whipped ricotta or whipped cream
Put the green tea, grains of paradise syrup and saffron in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Once the liquid has started to boil, reduce the heat and place the pears into the saucepan. Poach for 15 - 20 minutes, turning every so often so that the pears take on an even color from the saffron. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Let steep overnight in the poaching liquid. Before serving, you can take the pears out of the poaching liquid and reduce it over medium-high heat until it thickens slightly. Divide the ricotta or whipped cream onto serving plates, then place a pear on top. Drizzle a few tablespoons of poaching liquid and serve immediately.
