Tapioca Pudding - Not as Boring as It Sounds!

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Tapioca pudding is one of those things you can serve to guests and everyone will say "Ooh, I love tapioca, but I haven't had it in years!" Or "since I was a kid!" I know I get on a kick and make it several times and then forget about it for years until something reminds me. What reminded me this time was a chat with my dear cousin Denise. We were talking about our favorite foods our grandmother made when we were kids. 

Denise recalled Ma (that's what we all called her) having, shall we say, mixed results with her tapioca. One time it would be heavenly, and the next time rather gluey (Denise liked it either way). I thought it odd that Ma would have had difficulty with something so simple, but then I figured it out.

Reading. Ma and her daughters (including Denise's mother and my mother) were addicted to reading, just as we are. Growing up in a very large family in the Lake District (northwest England), her favorite task was making all the beds. Not because she especially liked making beds, but that chore gave her the opportunity to be alone upstairs and get a lot of reading done. Can't do much harm there, but ... stuff happens when you're cooking and you can't put your book down. 

So I imagine on those gluey pudding days, the plot was thickening and so was the tapioca.

Tapioca Pudding

(Makes 3 cups, 4 or 5 servings)

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
3/4 cup very warm water
2 1/4 cups organic milk (I use 2%)
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large organic eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Garnish: Whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg

1 In heavy 2-quart saucepan, soak tapioca in warm water for 30 minutes. Stir in milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium* heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until thickened, about 15 minutes.

* And I do mean medium. No matter how heavy your saucepan, if you try to hurry it along by cranking up the heat you'll scorch it. Then as you stir, the scorched patch will come off in shreds and be all mixed in with the pudding. Not good. (You may ask, Hmm ... wonder how she knows that? I'll tell you--the same way I know that stuff happens when you're cooking and you can't put your book down!)

2 In 1-quart bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Gradually stir hot mixture into the lightly beaten eggs, then pour into saucepan. Cook, stirring, over low heat for two minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in vanilla. 

3 Cool quickly by setting pan in larger pan or bowl of ice and water for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If not cooling quickly, place a round of buttered parchment paper on the surface of the custard to keep a skin from forming, cover pan, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.