Title: Large Pearl Tapioca Pudding
Categories: Desserts
Yield: 6 Servings

1 c Large pearl tapioca
1 1/2 ts Vanilla extract
4 c Water
1 c Chopped English walnuts
3 c Brown sugar
Whipped Cream Topping
1 ds Salt

This is another unique pudding and a very old recipe. Cooking the large
pearl tapioca slowly for hours in a brown-sugar sauce gives this dessert an
intense flavor. The additon of English walnuts provides a satisfying
crunch. Frequently this pudding was cooked in the oven or in a double
boiler, but get ideal results, requiring no watching, with a crockpot.

Place the tapioca and water in a crockpot. Soak overnight.

Do not drain tapioca. Add brown sugar and salt and cook for 12 hours on
low.

Stir once in a while. The tapioca becomes clear and the texture is
gelatinous at the end of the cooking period. Let cool. Add vanilla, a bit
more salt if needed, and the walnuts. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl
and spread top liberally with Whipped Cream Topping.

NOTE: Large pearl tapioca requires long, slow cooking to become
transparent. And each pearl has a tiny bit of starch in the middle of it
that sometimes never completely cooks up which, though edible, looks
unpleasant. The crockpot is absolutely perfect for cooking these big
pearls--and that little starchy bead completely disappears.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini