Meringues with Aegina pistachios, lemon and Earl Grey tea

The air in the meringue and its crunchy texture combined with the lightly sour lemon taste and the aroma of a good quality tea leads us into something really elegant! A joyful little sweet treat for all seasons to serve to your guests and enjoy plain or with a cup of fragrant tea

Recipe of Stelios Parliaros,
a most prominent Pastry Chef in Greece
from the "Umami" cooking magazine

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):
5 egg whites (150gr.)
225gr. granulated sugar
50gr. of Aegina pistachios, roughly chopped
1 lemon, the zest
a few tea leaves of the Earl Grey variety

Method:
Preheat the oven to 100°C. Line with baking paper a large baking dish.

Place the egg whites and the sugar in a metal bowl and following the "bain-marie" method, constantly stir the mixture until it becomes white and its temperature reaches 60°C (a confectionery thermometer is needed).

Take off the heat and transfer the mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Beat the ingredients in low speed until the mixture is firm and cold and you have a strong meringue.

Stop beating and using a big spoon gently stir into the mixture the pistachios, the lemon zest and the tea leaves.

Using a spoon take amounts of the mixture and place on the baking paper leaving a bit of space between them.

Put in the oven and bake for 3 hours.