Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pearl tapioca (large pearls preferred)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs – separated
• 2½ cups milk
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Soak tapioca overnight in 2 cups of room temperature water.
• Drain.
• In double boiler, heat milk just until no longer cold.
• Add salt and tapioca.
• Continue heating until small bubbles appear at sides of the pan.
• Cover, turn heat very low and cook for one hour. Make sure that the mixture does not simmer or boil!
• Add small amount of the hot mixture to the 2 egg yolks, and quickly blend thoroughly.
• Add the egg yolk mixture to the hot milk mixture, stirring constantly (!)
• Place the double boiler over medium heat and cook until the tapioca mixture is very thick (about 15 minutes).
• Beat egg whites until stiff (may use ¼ teaspoon of Cream of Tartar).
• Slowly fold the hot tapioca mixture into the egg whites.
• Stir in the vanilla.
• Serve warm or chilled.

Tapioca is a flavorless starch, made from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root,usually in the form of beads or pearls The word is derived from the Tupi language of Brazil (from tipi'óka), and refers to the process by which cassava (Manihot esculenta) is made edible. [Recipe from Reese - supplier of large pearl tapioca]