A Fish Dinner in Memison

Here's a great (and slightly weird) one we've made a couple of times. Use a wide straw so you can suck up the tapioca pearls through it.

Strawberry Tapioca Soda
By Michael Laiskonis, executive pastry chef at Le Bernardin.

For the strawberry juice:
1 pound strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped or mashed
5 large basil leaves, torn
⅓ cup sugar
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice and grated zest of 1 orange

For the tapioca:
¼ cup large tapioca pearls
3 tablespoons sugar

To assemble:

1 10-ounce can club soda, chilled
Strawberries and basil leaves, for garnishing
Strawberry sorbet, or other sorbet or ice cream.

1. For the strawberry juice: Toss together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover, place in a warm area and let stand for 4 hours, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2. Cook the tapioca: In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Stir in the tapioca, reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook until there is only a pinpoint of white in the center of each pearl, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent the pearls from sticking to the bottom of the pan or to each other.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the sugar and ⅓ cup water until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool. Drain the tapioca and rinse with cold water. Stir into the cooled syrup and chill.

4. Strain the strawberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the maximum amount of juice. You should have about 1⅓ cups.

5. To assemble: strain the tapioca from the syrup and divide it among 4 tall glasses. Add ⅓ cup strawberry juice to each glass. Divide the club soda among the glasses and gently stir to combine. Top with a scoop of sorbet and garnish with strawberries and basil leaves. Serve immediately, with a large straw or long spoon. Serves 4.