This creamy (yet vegan) dessert can follow a meal from just about any cuisine: Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, West African, Asian, North American.…

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　5 tablespoons sugar

　　1 14-ounce can of coconut milk

　　1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

　　

Step 1

Place the tapioca, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan, stir in 1/2 cup of cool water, and set aside for 5 minutes. Then stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often to prevent sticking, until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Stir in the lemon peel. Pour into dessert dishes and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

　　

Serving & menu ideas

Step 3

Just before serving, top with sliced fresh fruit—our favorite is mango. Ripe, fresh mango can’t be beat, but good canned mango is available, too. Strawberries, peaches, cherries, or pineapple are also delicious as a topping.

　　From Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table. Copyright © 2017 by Moosewood Collective. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Buy the full book from ThriftBooks or Amazon.