When I lived in San Diego for 2 years, I discovered horchata, a Mexican rice milk based drink with cinnamon. You can usually find horchata at a taco stand. It tastes like liquid churros. Living in NY, it’s harder to find horchata because not many of the Mexican restaurants have it. I do love the horchata at La Esquina in NY if you ever want to try it. Last weekend, I decided to make my own almond milk horchata. I wanted to try the almond horchata because the process seemed easier and I love the nutty flavor the almonds give. I love that horchata is creamy, a little sweet and the perfect drink after a spicy Mexican meal. Drinking it brought me back to my days in San Diego.
- 2 cups almonds
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- Soak the almonds in filtered water for a minimum of 2 hours. Strain the almonds.
- Put the soaked almonds in a powerful blender with 1 – 2 cups of filtered water. Blend the almonds until it’s a paste.
- Put the almond mixture through a cheese cloth or a fine strainer to obtain the milk. You should have about 12 – 16 ounces of almond milk.
- Put the almond milk in the blender and mix in the vanilla bean, cinnamon, and agave nectar.
- Drink immediately.