coconut tapioca (again) with strawberry preserves

It seems wrong, but so right. Opening a jar of strawberries in the middle of windy November, the best taste of summer, perfectly preserved. In July, I bought a flat of strawberries, and made four kinds of strawberries preserves, all from Canning for a New Generation: Strawberry butter, Strawberry-Mint Syrup, Low Sugar (all fruit) Strawberry Jam and (the best of the bunch) Whole Strawberries in Syrup.

I've been trying to save them until the middle of February, when I will drown my winter blues with jars of summer fruit. However, I found myself with (yet another) batch of tapioca pudding, and I knew the only topping better than caramelized bananas (see this post), would be those dreamy, unbelievable strawberries.

Now I've made you jealous, because you don't have these perfect strawberries in your fridge. Sorry. Use a scoop of your favourite jam instead, or if you have some frozen berries, cook them down with some honey.

This tapioca recipe is from the back of the Bob's Red Mill package - a traditional English-style tapioca pudding. If you're looking for a more Asian style pudding, or a vegan version, try one of these posts.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Preserves

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
3/4 cup water
2 1/4 cup coconut milk (you can use one whole can and top it up with another type of milk)
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Strawberry preserves, or other cooked fruit or jam.

Soak tapioca in water for 30 minutes. Add milk, salt, and egg yolks and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn down to low heat. Simmer, stirring often for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and sugar until soft peaks form. Fold a few spoonfuls of hot tapioca into the egg whites, then fold the whole mixture back into the tapioca. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring often. Let cool for 15 minutes, then add in vanilla. Serve warm or cold, with fruit on top.

(I've been sorting through my cupboards, making sure all my jars are labeled, and trying to use up old ones from last year. So many delicious preserves - vanilla peaches, rhubarb orange jam, caramelized onions, plums in honey syrup, dilly beans and so much more!)

more tapioca

It's my favourite dessert. I can't stop making it! Previous tapioca obsession can be found here: Coconut Vanilla Tapioca. This new recipe comes from a post on Food 52. I loved the cardamom flavour, but if that's not your thing, just replace it with a teaspoon of vanilla paste. And those bananas? They would be awesome on crepes, yogurt, pancakes, or oatmeal.

coconut pudding with cardamom and caramelized bananas
serves 4-6

3 cups of water
4 green cardamom pods
pinch of salt
 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (not minute tapioca. check at asian grocery stores.)
2-4 tbsp of sugar

Slightly crush the cardamom pods with the flat of a knife. Bring water, cardamom and salt to a boil. Stir in  tapioca, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. When the white dot in the middle of the tapioca has disappeared, it's done. Fish out the cardamom pods and discard.

Add sugar to taste, and coconut milk. Stir to combine, and divide among serving bowls. While the pudding cools slightly, make the bananas:

2 firm-ripe bananas
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter

Cut bananas lengthwise, then in half (you should have 8 pieces). Melt butter in a frying pan. Sprinkle sugar over pan, and lay bananas, cut side down, in sugar. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, turning once, until browned. Serve on top of the tapioca.

coconut vanilla tapioca

Cooking with whole vanilla beans takes everything up a notch. It's like any of those premium, flavourful ingredients: truffle oil, saffron, maldon sea salt - it suddenly makes everything taste like a million bucks. I used a mix of cream, coconut milk and almond milk because that was what I had in my fridge; the cream adds some richness, but you can omit it for a vegan version - just use more coconut or almond milk.

Also, I found that making your own jam means you need to be more creative with it - it's time to move beyond peanut butter and jam sandwiches. A less sugary jam like this strawberry and rhubarb one makes a lovely topping for all kinds of desserts.

coconut vanilla tapioca

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup 10% cream
1/2 cup almond milk
1 vanilla bean
1/3 cup large tapioca pearls (larger than minute tapioca, smaller than the bubble tea ones)
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Simmer milks and cream in a saucepan. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into milk/cream, then throw in bean too. After the milk has infused for 5 minutes, add tapioca, sugar and salt. Cook on low heat, stirring often for 15 to 20 minutes. Add a bit more milk if it dries out before the tapioca is cooked through. Remove the vanilla bean.

Serve hot or cold, with some jam on top.