Igloo pears

Mix the water, orange juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir continuously to dissolve the sugar. Add the salt and orange rind. Boil for 3 minutes before adding the sultanas and margarine. Place the pears in the syrup. Simmer the syrup gently until the pears are tender but still firm. Place the pears in a shallow ovenproof dish and spoon a few sultanas into each pear hollow. Pour the syrup over the pears. Whisk the egg whites until foamy, add the castor sugar by the spoonful and whisk until stiff. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe the meringue on top of each pear half. Preheat the oven to 160 ºC (325 ºF) and bake until the meringue tips have just browned, about 10 minutes. Serve the pears with a little pouring cream, if desired.
Serves 4-6.