Homemade Horchata

 

 

 

I'm not going to lie... I am addicted to Mexican food. But it has to be authentic. And I'm not (too) picky either (except Menudo, sorry I just cant!). I love tacos, Pozole, Enchiladas, Chilaquiles, Chile Rellenos... all of it.

 

But I simply can not go to a Mexican restaurant without ordering a delicious cup (err jug) of horchata. I love the creamy rice and milk flavored drink with just a touch of cinnamon, but, I'm super picky about the flavor. I hate when it's too watery, I really don't like when the cinnamon over powers the rest of the flavors, and I can not STAND when it tastes like nuts (why!?).

 

So I started out on an adventure to make my own recipe and I think I came pretty close. Next time I would let the rice mixture soak overnight and use one cinnamon stick during that time as well.

 

Want to find out how I did it? Here's my recipe:

 

For the Horchata:

1 1/3 cups long grain rice

5 cups water

1/2 Tablespoon ground (quality) cinnamon

1 cup whole milk

1/2 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

 

In a blender, add the 1 1/3 cups of rice, 2 cups of water and the 1/2 Tablespoon of cinnamon. Blend until the rice is roughly ground. Add the remaining 3 cups of water and blend for another minute until blended thoroughly (there should still be chunks of rice).

Pour rice mixture into a pitcher (this is also when I would add the one cinnamon stick) and let sit in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours and up to overnight (this would produce more flavor).

 

When the time is up, strain the mixture through a sieve, removing all of the larger pieces of rice. Add in the milk, vanilla and sugar and stir until combined.

 

Serve over ice and enjoy! This recipe, minus a few changes I would make after my first attempt, is creamy and absolutely perfecto!

 

Happy Monday Everyone!