Fruit Tapioca

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Today's post is for all my fellow tapioca-lovers, but especially for my friend Katharina who has been visiting me for the last few days.

Last year, when I spent a few days in New York City with my lovely friend Katharina (who suffered through me being the worlds laziest person where homework was concerned in high school (i.e. Katharina did the homework and I copied it either on the train, before class, or sometimes even during class)) we realised that she had never had anything with tapioca (like bubble tea). Since then whenever we talk about that week we talk about tapioca....and pork buns...and all the other amazing food we had.

When I read Janet's post about fruit tapioca a while back I really wanted to make but never got around to it.
So when Katharina told me she was coming to Berlin I decided that I should use her as an excuse to make a huuuge bowl full of fruit tapioca.

And it was good :)
Soo good.

Note: Adjust the amount of agave syrup you use depending on how sweet the juice and fruit are.
Also, in case you use the word juice in a different way I - when I talk about juice I mean the 100% from a fruit kind, not the kind with sugar and water (I would call that fruit nectar), and definitely not the sugar-free syrup you mix with water (I would call that squash) - I've had some misunderstandings on that front lately.

Fruit Tapioca
150g Tapioca Pearls (I like the medium ones but the small ones will do just fine)
250ml Water
750ml Fruit Juice (I used grape juice)
300g Fruit (I used mixed berries)
Some Agave Syrup

Take out a big, heavy bottomed pot.
Soak the tapioca in the water for about an hour (if you use the small kind half an hour will do), then add the juice and the fruit and bring things to a boil over a medium heat.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the tapioca is tender. Don't forget to keep stirring - have you ever had to scrape burnt tapioca off the bottom of a pot? I had to learn the hard way a while back - it wasn't fun.
If you feel the fruit and juice you used is a bit tart, add some agave syrup to taste.
Find a pretty bowl, allow the tapioca to cool and then find it a home in your fridge.
Oh, and in case you're wondering - this goes incredibly well with some vanilla ice-cream!

My Mum's Fruit Salad

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Growing up we always seemed to have fruit salad. I'm convinced this was my mum trying to make us eat more fruit but unlike some of the other healthy stuff that tended to appear on our plates the fruit salad was actually nice (ok, that sounds a bit mean, but those of you who have nutritionists as mums will know what I mean) - who wouldn't want to have fruit salad for desert?
Before you ask, no this is not the version my mum made for us kids :) but she made one just like this when I went home for Christmas this time around.
And it was glorious!
Yes, if you're trying to loose weight, loose the kirsch and the sugar, but if you're looking for something that will transform a lovely fruit salad into something that you can't stop eating then let me suggest this version :)

Super Duper Fruit Salad
1 Pink Lady Apple
1 Banana
2 Kiwi Fruit
1 Orange
1 Pear
1 tbsp Kirschwasser
2 tsp Vanilla Sugar

Cut the apple, banana and pear (yes, believe it or not, I'm using pear in a recipe! I'm proud of myself!) into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Cut off the kiwi fruit skin, then cut them into small pieces and add to the bowl. Cut off the orange peel and cut out the segments. Squeeze the remainder of the orange and use the juice as part of the dressing (ok, I really can't think of a better way of putting this, if you are unsure about what I'm talking about then let me know and I'll think of a better way of describing this), then add the kirsch and sugar.
Enjoy by itself, with some whipped cream, some ice-cream, or whatever else you can think of :)