Sagu de Vinho

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-liter pot
• •Medium bowl for soaking
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Six small serving cups or one medium serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the pearls

   Put the cassava pearls in a bowl with 2 cups of the water and let them soak for 30 minutes. They won't look dramatic, and that's fine. This little rest hydrates the centers so they cook evenly instead of giving you clear edges with a stubborn hard dot inside.

2. 2

   Start the syrup

   In a heavy medium pot, combine the remaining 2 cups water, the wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel if using, and salt. Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Taste the liquid. It should be sweet and spiced, because the pearls bring starch and softness, not flavor of their own.

3. 3

   Simmer gently

   Drain the soaked pearls and stir them into the wine mixture. Lower the heat so the pot bubbles calmly, not angrily, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom. Starch likes to settle and stick. If you ignore it, the bottom thickens first and you get lumps instead of a glossy pudding.

   Use a spoon and look closely. The pearls are ready when most are clear with only a tiny white dot left in the center. Fully white means raw. Completely collapsed means you cooked past the ponto.
4. 4

   Adjust the ponto

   When the pearls are mostly clear and the liquid looks shiny and lightly thickened, turn off the heat. If it looks too thick in the pot, stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons hot water. Sagu firms as it chills, so a pudding that looks perfect hot can become too stiff cold. We want spoonable, not brick.

5. 5

   Chill and serve

   Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves, and orange peel. Spoon the sagu into one bowl or six small cups, cool for 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. Serve with a pour of cold cream. The cream softens the wine's edge and makes each spoonful rounder, which is why it belongs there.

Chef Tips

• •Buy small cassava pearls or small tapioca pearls. The big bubble-tea pearls cook differently and can stay rubbery in the middle, and then you'll blame the recipe instead of the wrong bag.
• •Use a red wine you'd drink in a small glass, not the fancy bottle and not the sad one hiding behind the vinegar. Heat concentrates flaws. Cooking is not a witness protection program for bad wine.
• •The honest shortcut: use a decent bottled grape juice for an alcohol-free version. It will be sweeter and less sharp, so start with 1/2 cup sugar and taste. It's not the same dessert, but it is still real food.
• •Don't use powdered dessert mix. If the flavor comes from a packet, the cassava pearls are just decoration. We are here to cook, not rehydrate imitation.
• •Sagu gets thicker overnight. If it tightens too much, stir in a spoonful of cold water or cream before serving and it comes back to itself.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the sagu up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Add the cream only when serving.
• •If serving for Christmas, cook it the day before. The spice settles, the color deepens, and you have one less pan to babysit when the house is already loud.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)