Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Mmmmmmm…this was good.  Comfort food at its finest, with an elegant touch.   Before tonight, I hadn’t had tapioca pudding since I was a kid!  I probably would have tackled this recipe with soy milk, but we are fresh out, so I used coconut milk.  I loved the more sophisticated flavor dimension that the coconut milk brought to the table!  I also love the snowy white color.  I am used to using various nondairy milks, like soy and almond milk, so to me, “milk” looks kind of off-white.  So whenever I use coconut milk, the vivid white takes me back!  I can’t wait to make this in the summertime and garnish with beautiful fresh raspberries.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 15-oz cans of coconut milk, regular or light (I used Trader Joe’s light)
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca pearls (I used Let’s Do…Organic)
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1 scraped vanilla bean*

Preparation:

Mix coconut milk and tapioca granules in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, stirring frequently with a wire whisk, for 12-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add sugar and vanilla.

Transfer to a container or to individual ramekins, cover, and chill for a few hours.  You might want to give it another stir before serving to loosen up the texture.  Enjoy!

* Note:  You can substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla bean or don’t want to spend the money.  But using a vanilla bean really gives a lovely flavor without any of that alcoholic aftertaste, and leaves pretty black specks throughout the pudding! After you scrape the inside of the vanilla bean, don’t throw the pod away.  Stick it in your sugar bin, and you will have some lovely vanilla sugar!

Here, have a taste!