Pears over Vanilla Tapioca with Meringue and Pistachio

Ingredients:

For the vanilla tapioca

• 2/3 cup large tapioca pearls 
• 2 cups water 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1 cup almond milk 
• 2 Tbsp honey 
• 1 tsp ground cardamom 
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 

For the pear compote

• 4 firm, but ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored, cut into thick slices
• 1 1/5 cup water (or for adult version you can use sweet white wine)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• lemon zest from 1/2 lemon 

For the meringue

• 4 egg whites 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup pistachio, crushed

Directions

Prepare the vanilla tapioca
In a medium bowl, soak the tapioca pearls in the water for an hour. Drain and discard the water. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the tapioca, milk, almond milk, honey and cardamom to a boil. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into saucepan; add bean. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until the tapioca looks translucent. Remove from the heat, discard vanilla bean and place a piece of plastic wrap right on top to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.

Prepare the pear compote
Combine water, sugar, lemon zest, cardamom, allspice berries and cloves in a heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Add pears and simmer until tender, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to a medium bowl. Boil liquid in saucepan until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Pour over pears.

Prepare the meringue
Preheat an oven to 275°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Place over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a mixer and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture is lukewarm 4 to 5 minutes. Using a soup spoon, drop the batter in large mounds spaced 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with pistachio. Bake until crunchy outside and still chewy inside, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool completely before removing the cookies from the parchment.

When ready to serve the dessert, spoon the tapioca into the bottom of each of 6 glasses, dividing it evenly. When the pear compote is cool, divide it in between the serving glasses on top of the tapioca. Top with meringue cookies.