Horchata

An idea for the grounds: if you add two cups of milk and a cup of hot water to the rice/almond grounds and stir it on low heat until it boils, it becomes a pudding-y, oatmeal-like mixture called firnee. It's a Persian food that was a staple for my mom growing up ! You can top it with more cinnamon if you like

I liked the addition of the almonds and double-strained the mixture. But, rather than discarding the solids, I fed it to my chickens, who also give rave reviews!

Made with macadamias, only because I had a huge bag from Costco and they were already roasted and salted. I liked the flavor. I then tried chestnuts - blame Costco again. It was good - kinda. I like it best with the almonds - but only 1/2 cup AND I boil them to remove the skins. I only use 1/2 cup sugar. Vitamix is my blender and I use 2 layer cheesecloth. I do not toss the left over "sludge" in the cheese cloth. I add it to pancakes and muffins and waffles. (Freeze until needed)

Any reason I can't let it all soak in the blender and decant 4 cups of liquid leaving the remnants to be blended?

Horchata may be a Latin American drink, but first and foremost, it is a Spanish drink. Typically from the Valencia region, but available all over Spain. It is made from "chufa" or tiger nuts, which are occasionally available in the USA at Trader Joe's and other places. I guess they don't have tiger nuts in Latin America so they make it with rice, but it originated in Spain, for sure. (Tiger nuts are in the nutsedge family and grow underground.)

Is that rice cooked or raw?

I used this recipe as a base, but took some hints from MyLatinaTable: 1) I broke up a cinnamon stick to soak overnight with the rice and almonds, 2) after soaking, I removed (and discarded) roughly one cup of the soaking water, 3) after blending and straining the mix, I replaced the removed water by adding one can of evaporated milk, 4) added vanilla alongside the sugar for more flavor. So rich and flavorful!

I made delicious rice pudding from the solids using a Madhur Jaffrey recipe as inspiration. Don’t throw out good food!

I find white rice problematic on the whole--bleached, husked, the bran and germ removed, it's not the healthiest carb on the shelf. Of course it's traditional in this Mexican version of horchata. But I prefer the Spanish version from Valencia where they use chufas or tiger nuts, which you can find on-line. It's served not just in Valencia but all over Spain, at all hours of the day and night, and always icy-icy cold on the hottest days of summer.

A few notes for more flavorful horchata: 1. Ratio: 1 cup rice | 1/4 cup almonds | 4 cups water | 1 stick cinnamon 2. Boil a cinnamon stick in one of the four cups of water, and then let sit for 10 min before combining with rest of water to bring cinnamon flavor out 3. Roughly pulse the rice / almond / cinnamon / water mixture before soaking 4. Soak at room temperature, not refrigerated 5. Use sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar to sweeten to taste

My grandmother made it from oats. The preparation process is what makes it horchata.

Horchata is delicious in coffee-- Try equal parts horchata and cold-brew coffee on ice.

Nuts are optional, so folks who worry that they can't tolerate raw almonds are free to fiddle with the nuts. Roast them, or use cashews, use macadamia nuts or Brazil nuts. You only need a cup, which is not a big investment. Be creative and report back so the timid among us will know how your horchata turned out.

Horchata good, with about half the sugar called for, and just a sprinkling of cinnamon. And, rather than throw away the ground rice and almonds, I thought I'd try making appams (Indian rice pancakes) with it. It worked! Although the almonds made the appams more fragile, they are delicious.

Raw, always.