White chocolate pistachio crisp green tea leaves
Tea
I have long been intrigued by the use of savory elements in desserts. While I feel like a 'Japanophile' in so many regards, I have never been able to enjoy unsweetened green tea (or natto, but the Japanese expect that!). But after adding sugar, I really like green tea (though it truly horrifies my Japanese hosts.) The tricky thing about powdered green tea -is that it can vary a bit in texture, intensity and flavor. So in candy making or baking with it, you have to experiment. In developing this recipe, i found that I wanted a very clear flavor presence of green tea. The correct strength also brought with it an excess of bitterness, but i was surprised to learn that the kosher salt, even in its small amount, countered and removed the bitterness. I find matcha an excellent match for white chocolate because, like coffee, it is bitter enough to counter the cloying sweetness of even the best white chocolate. And its green tea flavor is able to shine through white chocolate, where it is rather obscured by dark chocolate. White chocolate has a lovely creaminess to it, and these small candy leaves rest very comfortably, melting in the roof of your mouth. With the added contrasting textures of a small amount of ground pistachios and krispies, the leaves gain another dimension of elegance.
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