I started with the tapioca recipe from 101 cookbooks.com. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/tapioca-pudding-recipe.html This I essentially doubled and flavored to suit my whim.
2/3 cup small pearl tapioca
5 cups milk (I used 2%. Whole would have been nicely decadent.)
1 cup coconut milk
4 egg yolks, fork beaten
5 tbs sugar
dash kosher salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
dash fresh nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla (A scraped vanilla bean would have been better, but the HEB was out)
1 cup pecan halves
Spray olive oil
dash kosher salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
Soak the tapioca pearls in 1 1/2 cup of milk for about 30 minutes. Whisk in the remaining milk, coconut milk, egg, sugar cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Bring the mixture slowly to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Stir constantly until the tapioca softens and becomes translucent, and the custard thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, spray the pecans with a bit of olive oil. (or melted butter) Toss with the seasonings and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until toasted. Pay close attention to the nuts to assure they don’t burn. Chop and fold into the pudding.
Not The Knowing One 