Old Fashioned Fluffy Tapioca Pudding

Serves 4-6

Recipe from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

My husband and son absolutely love this simple treat.  When our friend Bob’s wife is out of town, we have him over for dinner and I always make this for his dessert.  (His wife is not a fan of tapioca, so he only gets it when he comes here.)  Bob says, “I’ll walk across the street for this tapioca.”  Funny thing is that he lives a good 25 minutes away from our house, not across the street.  We all think it tastes best warm. 

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca

3/4 cup water

2¼ cups whole milk (You can substitute 2% milk or skim, but the tapioca tastes especially rich when whole milk is used.)

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

½ cup sugar, divided

2 large eggs, separated (room temperature)

½ teaspoon vanilla

Soak tapioca in water for 30 minutes in a saucepan. Do not drain remaining water, if any. Add milk, salt, and lightly beaten egg yolks to tapioca and stir over medium heat until boiling. Simmer uncovered over very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Beat egg whites with the sugar until soft peaks form. Fold about 3/4 cup of hot tapioca into the egg whites, then gently fold mixture back into saucepan. Stir over low heat for about 3 minutes. Cool 15 minutes then add vanilla.  Serve warm.