I especially like this recipe with tiny Clementines or Satsumas, which are exactly the right size.
6 SERVINGS
2¼ |
cups whole milk |
1 |
large egg |
¼ |
cup sugar |
3 |
tablespoons instant tapioca |
1 |
teaspoon salt |
1 |
vanilla bean |
1 |
cup sliced almonds |
1 |
pound seedless mandarins (about 6) |
2 |
tablespoons minced candied ginger (about 1 ounce) |
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 texture 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 almonds. Serve cold or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.