My grandmother and aunts used to prepare this dish when I was a child, but it seems that the recipe was never written down.

Soak tapioca: In a bowl, mix cold water with tapioca pearls. Leave it in the liquid for at least 30 minutes.

Warm up the Half & Half and milk together in a pot. Warm the mixture on medium heat until it is hot but not boiling.

Include tapioca and sugar: Remove excess liquid from soaked tapioca and mix it into warm milk mixture. Mix in sugar and salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the tapioca pearls become see-through.

Prepare eggs: In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Slowly pour a little bit of the warm tapioca mixture into the beaten eggs while stirring continuously.

Mix the eggs with the tapioca in the saucepan and stir while cooking. Cook over medium heat until it thickens more. Don’t allow it to reach boiling point.

Add vanilla extract and stir after removing from heat.

Cool and serve: Put the pudding in a bowl or separate serving dishes. Let it cool down to room temperature, then put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.