Horchata

How you might see it in Mexico,
 waiting to be served.

Horchata is drink made of rice from Mexico.  It is in my opinion the only to drink rice "milk" and not live to regret the taste. It has a vanillay, almondy, cinnamony goodness about it that coats your mouth and tongue and leaves you wanting more. It is the PERFECT drink for hot summer days and garden parties.

I used to beg my friends who went to Mexico to bring me back a bottle or two of the concentrated stuff, but with the new regulations in the airline industry that is just too difficult nowadays.  I have been searching and searching for a good recipe for ages. I tried a few times, but got frustrated and gave up.  until NOW!!! Thanks to Mely at Mexico in my Kitchen for posting a great Horchata recipe that has now become a staple in this household. I figured I'd post her recipe with my minor modifications here for you in case you wanted to try it.

Horchata

Day 1
2 cups of white long grain rice
4 cups of boiling hot water
ground cinnamon or 1 stick of whole cinnamon

Day 2
1/2 C white sugar
2 C whole milk
5 C water
1 large capful vanilla
1 small capful almond extract

Day 1 directions:

The day before you want to drink the Horchata, place the cups of rice(uncooked) in a large bowl, add the boiling water and cinnamon(if it's powdered add enough to cover the top of he surface of the water).  Wrap your bowl in plastic wrap and let it sit out on your counter for 24 hours.  REALLY. You NEED to do this 24 hours in advance for the best results.(if pressed for time, you can do 12 hours, but it's not as good).

The next day.......

Add your bowl of rice, cinnamon, and water to your blender and blend until you get a VERY watery paste.  Then blend again. Drain this mixture over a fine mesh sieve back into your original bowl.  Clean out your blender. Add about 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 small capful of almond extract, and 1.5 large capfuls of vanilla.  To this mix add about 2 ladlefuls of the drained rice "milk". Blend until the sugar is dissolved.  Add this back to our bowl of rice "milk".  stir to combine, then pour into a large pitcher. Add 2 cups whole milk and 5 cups of water.

At this point you have a choice, you can either put it in the fridge and wait for it to chill or you can grab the nearest glass and pour yourself a cup over ice, sit back and enjoy. Cleaning up the kitchen can wait until later.