Prep Time : 5 + 30 Minutes | Cook Time : 0 Minutes | Total Time : 4 hours | Difficulty : Easy
Hello my lovelies! Since we’ve been talking about non-alcoholic drink options lately I have another one. A bit more work than the lemonade but so delicious and refreshing. One of my favourite people made horchata to bring along to friendmas and I absolutely loved it! It has the same creamy mouthfeel and refreshingness as cold milk. But without the heavy feeling. With a few added spices and sweetened with a little dried fruit it becomes addictive. It does need to be well chilled or it will seem sweet and a bit cloying. As well as just knocking it back I can recommend pouring it on cereal or adding to black tea. Use the most blender-ing appliance you have because the smoother you can blend it the more creamy goodness you can extract. When it’s sitting in the fridge it will settle out into layers – just give it a good shake before drinking.
Toast the spices in a small pan for a couple of minutes. Put it over a low heat and move the spices around until they become very fragrant.
In a large bowl mix the spices, almonds, rice, dates, figs and salt.
Boil the jug and pour the boiling water over the rest of the ingredients.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to cool to room temperature about 3 t0 4 hours. When the mixture has cooled pile everything into a good blender or high-powered food processor. The blender is better but my processor is over powered anyway.
Pulse a few times the get the nuts to start breaking down before running the blender/processor for at least 5 minutes to puree everything as much as possible.
If you have a nut milk bag, use that as you normally would to strain the mixture. If you don’t, place a sieve over a large jug or bowl and line with 4 layers of muslin or cheesecloth.
Pour the mixture through the cloth. Do this a bit at a time so that most liquid strains through and you can fit all the solids into the sieve. Coax it through with a silicone spatula.
Bring the edges of the cloth up and secure with a rubber band.
Now get squeezing. You want to get as much liquid as possible out. When you can squeeze no more pour off the liquid into a bottle and chill in the fridge.
Serve the horchata cold with a sprinkling of extra cinnamon.
Don’t throw away the pulp. Spread it out on a baking sheet and dry it out in a low oven. Use it to make a delicious fruit crumble topping. You can even add herbs and onion and use to make a stuffing for your holiday bird.
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Fig + Ginger Horchata
Prep Time : 5 + 30 mins | Cook Time : 0 mins | Total Time : 4 hours | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 3 to 4 cups
A creamy cold thirst-quencher lightly sweetened and flavoured with holiday spices.
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (xx grams) brown rice
- 1 + 1/2 cups (200 grams) raw almonds
- pinch salt
- 1/4 (50 grams) dates
- about 3 medium (50 grams) dried figs
- 5 cups boiling water
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Blender/hardcore food processor
- Muslin/cheesecloth/jelly bag/nut-milk bag
- Fine mesh sieve
Directions:
Toast the spices in a small pan for a couple of minutes. Put it over a low heat and move the spices around until they become very fragrant.
In a large bowl mix the spices, almonds, rice, dates, figs and salt.
Boil the jug and pour the boiling water over the rest of the ingredients.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to cool to room temperature about 3 t0 4 hours. When the mixture has cooled pile everything into a good blender or high-powered food processor. The blender is better but my processor is over powered anyway.
Pulse a few times the get the nuts to start breaking down before running the blender/processor for at least 5 minutes to puree everything as much as possible.
If you have a nut milk bag, use that as you normally would to strain the mixture. If you don’t, place a sieve over a large jug or bowl and line with 4 layers of muslin or cheesecloth.
Pour the mixture through the cloth. Do this a bit at a time so that most liquid strains through and you can fit all the solids into the sieve. Coax it through with a silicone spatula
Bring the edges of the cloth up and secure with a rubber band.
Now get squeezing. You want to get as much liquid as possible out. When you can squeeze no more pour off the liquid into a bottle and chill in the fridge.
Serve the horchata cold with a sprinkling of extra cinnamon.
Don’t throw away the pulp. Spread it out on a baking sheet and dry it out in a low oven. Use it to make a delicious fruit crumble topping. You can even add herbs and onion and use to make a stuffing for your holiday bird.
Cook’s Notes:
- Make sure your almonds are fresh – any off flavours will come through in the finished horchata
- To adjust the sweetness after making, add a little honey to taste.
– Keep horchata in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Check it before drinking after 2 days to make sure it’s still good –
Adapted from All the Things I Want to Eat by Jessica Koslow.
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