Red Wine Sago with Vanilla Cream
A cosy Brazilian dessert from the south: soft sago pearls simmered in fragrant red wine and crowned with a silky vanilla cream. It comes together easily and tastes lovely warm in winter or well chilled in summer. The mellow cream meets the bold wine — a pairing that keeps you coming back for more.
🛒 Ingredients
10 servings
- 2 cups sago pearls (tapioca pearls)
- 3 large glasses of full-bodied red wine
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 litre water
- 500 ml whole milk
- ½ cup sugar (for the cream)
- 2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 egg yolk passed through a fine sieve
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Directions
- 1
Place the sago pearls in a pressure cooker with the water, seal it, and cook under pressure for 10 minutes.
- 2
Let the cooker cool, then drain the sago and rinse it under running water until all the sticky starch is gone.
- 3
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, red wine, and rinsed sago. Bring to a gentle simmer for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.
- 4
Make the cream: whisk the milk, ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, egg yolk, and vanilla together in a saucepan before turning on the heat.
- 5
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of a spoon.
- 6
Taste and adjust the sugar to your liking, then spoon the sago into bowls and top with the vanilla cream.
- 7
Serve warm in winter for a cosy treat, or chilled after a spell in the fridge in summer.
💡 Chef's Tip
Rinsing makes or breaks the sago — the more thoroughly you wash off the starch, the clearer and cleaner the finished texture. Always whisk the cornstarch into cold milk first so the cream stays perfectly lump-free, and keep stirring the whole time.
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