Coconut Milk Tapioca Pudding

I made this coconut milk tapioca pudding a couple months ago for a dinner party. I needed to bring something to a friend’s house — they are gluten-free and dairy-free. This dessert was a hit.

Tapioca is a starch extracted from cassava root (Manihot esculenta). Cassava, native to Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras, is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics. To make tapioca, cassava is dried to a starchy, powdery extract.

If you’re looking for something that is sweet, comforting, very nourishing, and contains no dairy or gluten, give this coconut milk tapioca pudding a try.

Sorry, it’s not GAPS-legal.

Coconut Milk Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients

Lemon, organic if possible (1)
Instant tapioca, organic if possible (1/4 cup)
Coconut milk (3 cups)
Sea salt (1 pinch)
Egg yolk, free range, organic (1)
Coconut sugar or sucanat (1/4 to 1/3 cup)

Equipment

Zester or grater

Directions

1. Zest the lemon. Set aside.
2. Add the tapioca, coconut milk and salt to a medium to large saucepan. Mix together and simmer on medium to low for 12-15 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and sugar. Temper small amounts of the tapioca into the egg yolk/sugar mixture until you have added about a cup. (Tempering prevents the egg yolk from overcooking.)
4. Stir the egg yolk/sugar/tapioca mixture into the remaining tapioca in the saucepan.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Add the lemon zest and stir to combine.
7. Transfer the pudding to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
8. Allow to cool at room temperature and then transfer to the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.