It seems I’m always thinking. Depending on the day depends on what it’s about and sometime it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. The one constant thing, however, is I am always thinking about what I can make and how I will make it. And that is exactly what happened on the day I was looking through one of my food magazines and saw a recipe for a mango and tapioca parfait. I wanted to make it.
But I didn’t have a chance to make it as soon as I had hoped to, which was perhaps, a blessing in disguise. I just couldn’t find small pearl tapioca anywhere! I honestly think it is a rare commodity in my area, but if you have as much trouble finding it as I did, check your local asian market. They will have it. During the search, however, I was looking through my friend, Patrick Evans-Hylton’s new cookbook, “Dishing up Virginia”, and came across his Ambrosia recipe. I now wanted to make that too.
Here’s where the thinking part came in. What if I combined the mango parfait with the ambrosia recipe? Now that was something worth thinking about and I have to say, this one thought was with me almost every day. How would I combine them, what would I take out and what would I keep? For days I had both recipes open on my counter, reading and re-reading. Thinking, thinking, thinking.
I may have blown a brain cell with all my thinking but I honestly believe I came up with a really great combination. I have Patrick’s Ambrosia in a whole new way. I don’t think Patrick would really mind me taking liberties with his recipe, in fact, I’m almost positive he would love the fact that I did!
So the next time you see a recipe you like (including this one), think about popping a few brain cells, taking a few liberties and see what you come up with. I think it could be something amazing!
See…..there I go again…. always thinking. However, I believe this time it worked and it was a good thing.
mango tapioca ambrosia
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup small pearl tapioca
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- kosher salt
- 1/2 can unsweetened coconut milk (1/2 of a 14 oz can)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup peeled and diced mango
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon finely grated lime zest
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 banana
- 3 ounces fresh or frozen coconut, toasted
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- maraschino cherries (optional)
Instructions
-
In a large saucepan, combine the tapioca, whole milk, vanilla bean and seeds and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook, whisking occasionally, until tapioca is translucent and tender, about 20 minutes. Whisk in the coconut milk.
-
In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk with the sugar. Gradually whisk in half the warm tapioca in a steady stream. Continue whisking and pour egg mixture back into the saucepan. Cook the pudding over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pudding to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Discard the vanilla bean. (i usually cover with plastic wrap directly covering the top of the pudding to avoid “skin”)
-
Whip the cream with an electric mixer in a medium chilled metal bowl until thick; fold in the sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
-
In a medium bowl, combine the mango, pineapple, lime zest and lime juice. Take half to a food processor and purée until smooth. Add purée to the other half of the diced mango and pineapple. Slice banana and add to the purée mixture to prevent browning.
-
Once tapioca has cooled enough, fold whipped cream into it.
-
To assemble begin with the fruit mixture, top with tapioca and whipped cream mixture, add toasted coconut, and then toasted pecans. Repeat until you have about two layers of everything. I use jelly canning jars and got six out of this recipe. Top with a maraschino cherry if desired.
