Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Whisk together the milk, egg, sugar, tapioca and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until
the egg is well combined. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Then bring to
a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the
seeds into the tapioca mixture. Remove the tapioca from the heat, pour it into a container,
cover and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. The mixture will be somewhat liquid at first,
but it will thicken as it cools.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds on an ungreased jelly-roll pan and toast,
stirring occasionally, until they begin to become fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Shake the pan
occasionally to prevent scorching. When the almonds are fragrant and beginning to turn
golden, remove them from the oven and immediately transfer them to a bowl to stop the
cooking. Set aside.
Peel the mandarins and carefully remove as much of the white pith and strings from the
fruit as you can. Break the mandarins into sections containing roughly 2 segments each
and cut each section in half crosswise. Collect the mandarins in a bowl and set aside.
Sprinkle the minced ginger over the chilled tapioca and stir roughly to mix it in thoroughly
and to break up the tapioca. After mixing, the tapioca should be somewhat creamy in tex-
ture rather than set firm like Jell-O.
Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of tapioca into each of six small glasses. Martini glasses are
perfect; wineglasses or flat champagne coupes work well, too. Spoon half a dozen pieces
of mandarin over the top, then scatter a generous tablespoon of sliced almonds over that.
Repeat twice more so that you have 3 succeeding layers of tapioca, mandarins and al-
monds. Serve cold or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.
