1 teacupful tapioca.
6 apples—juicy and well-flavored pippins—pared and cored.
1 quart water.
1 teaspoonful salt.
Cover the tapioca with three cups of lukewarm water, and set it in a
tolerably warm place to soak five or six hours, stirring now and then.
Pack your apples in a deep dish, adding a cup of lukewarm water; cover
closely and steam in a moderate oven until soft all through, turning
them as they cook at bottom. If the dish is more than a quarter full
of liquid, turn some of it out before you pour the soaked tapioca over
all. Unless your apples are _very_ sweet fill the centre with sugar and
stick a clove in each, just before you cover with the tapioca. Indeed,
I always do this. It softens the hard acid of the fruit. Bake, after
the tapioca goes in, one hour.
Eat warm, with sweet hard sauce.