Thursday, May 5, 2011

Horchata for Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  We did not have Mexican food for dinner, but at least we had this delicious Mexican drink- Horchata is a beverage made out of rice, almonds, and cinnamon.  Many recipes call for milk, as well, but I wanted one without- it just seems more "authentic" to me.  Not sure if I'm right or not, but that's the way I wanted to go.  So, Homesick Texan's blog came to the rescue- what a delicious recipe!  When adding the sugar syrup, taste as you go- I didn't even add all of it, and it was still almost too sweet.  This was as good as any Horchata I've had in restaurants. 

Horchata
from Homesick Texan

2/3 cup of uncooked rice
1 1/4 cups of blanched almonds
1 teaspoon of lime juice
Zest from one lime (optional- I didn't use)
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of sugar or brown sugar, depending on how dark you want the drink (I used part brown & part white)

1.  In a blender or spice grinder, grind the rice until it’s powdery. Place ground rice, almonds, lime juice, lime zest and the cinnamon stick in a pot or bowl and cover with two cups of warm water. Cover and let stand overnight or for eight hours.

2.  After the mixture has soaked, take out the cinnamon stick and pour contents into a blender with two cups of water and blend until smooth. Take a mesh colander that has been double lined with cheesecloth, and over a bowl or pitcher slowly pour the mixture, wringing the cheesecloth to get every last drop out. You should have a milky, smooth liquid at this point. If there are still rice and almond bits floating around, strain it again.
3.  In a pot, heat up one cup of sugar and one cup of water on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir this sugar water into the horchata- only adding half at a time, and tasting as you go.  Add to taste- you may not need all of it.  Add the vanilla, and one more cup of water, and serve over ice or chilled.

4.  Keeps for several days in the refrigerator.  You might notice some separation after a day, but just stir it and it'll be right again.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **
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