Real tapioca pudding

You know how sometimes you see something and the whole world shifts a little bit? I have two words for you - real. tapioca.

{real tapioca pearls}

Right now some of you are probably shuddering and others are cheering. That's how it goes with tapioca. I'm firmly in the cheering camp. Growing up, we could only get minute tapioca in the red cardboard box. It was the first dessert I could cook on my own. I loved it so much I told my little sister it was fish egg pudding just so I wouldn't have to share it. (It totally worked - she still doesn't eat tapioca)

I haven't made tapioca in years, but wandering the baking aisle at Whole Foods a while ago I noticed small tapioca pearls and made an impulse purchase. They are small, distinct pearls. You have to soak them before you can make pudding with them, but the wait is well worth it. They create a beautiful, creamy pudding and the pearls have a perfect, lightly chewy texture.

{real tapioca pudding}

I use the recipe on the back of the Bob's Red Mill bag, and it's excellent but I've found that the 1/2 cup of sugar they call for is overkill for me. I tried 1/3 cup instead, but it was just a smidge short of where I wanted to be. I've settled in between somewhere, with a slightly heaped 1/3 cup. This makes the pudding sweet, but not so sweet that you don't get a chance to savor the texture, which is the real star.

All tapioca recipes call for chilling the pudding, but I find I prefer it fresh off the stove. Once it chills it will set up fairly firm, so if you want beautiful individual serving portions I would recommend spooning it into your serving dishes while it's hot.

Tapioca Pudding (modified from Bob's Red Mill package - serves 4 easily)

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
3/4 cup water
2 1/4 cups milk*
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs**
1/3 cup sugar, heaped a bit
1/2 tsp vanilla

:: Soak the tapioca in the water for at least 30 minutes in a medium saucepan.

:: Add milk, salt and eggs and cook over medium heat, stirring until you reach a boil. The pudding will start to thicken up relatively quickly at this point - the recipe tells you to simmer for an additional 10 - 15 minutes, but in my experience the pudding is plenty thick enough within a minute or two of reaching a boil. Remember that it thickens up even more as it cools.

:: Cool slightly, stir in vanilla. Serve, warm or cold. 

* Recipe calls for 2% milk, but I use 1% because that's what we have in the house. I'm sure you could use whole milk with stunningly creamy results. Non-fat will work too, but don't expect the flavor to be exactly the same. 

** Recipe tells you to separate the eggs, cook the yolks with the tapioca and milk and beat the whites into soft peaks before folding them back into the pudding at the very end of the cooking time. Personally, I find that to be a lot of fuss for a simple pudding and I'm happy without the extra work.