In honor of Cinco de Mayo, and because I grew up near Mexico,
I thought I would share a Mexican favorite.
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Since we have a lot of Mexican friends, and have learned to appreciate the authentic preparation of their traditional foods, we have developed a quick test to determine how good a "Mexican" restaurant will be. The test is this, if the server looks at us quizzically upon asking if they have Horchata, we know that the restaurant isn't going to be very authentic. It might have good food but it won't be "real" Mexican.
Another drink to ask for would be Tamarind.
Horchata (the "h" is silent) is originally from Spain, and different variations can be found all over Latin America. The preparation process is lengthy, but the taste is very refeshing and definitely worth the wait.
To keep things simple the following recipe is what would be typical for Northern Mexico.
Horchata
Soak overnight: 1 C long grain white rice + 4 C cold water.
The next day: puree in batches in a blender and strain through 3-4 layers of cheesecloth, reserving liquid.
To reserved liquid add:
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
More recipe variations can be found at Allrecipes.com
1 comment:
I've never known what Horchata is, but it sounds like a fun recipe to try out! When I was in Italy, the way to tell if a gelato place was good or not was to look at the color of the banana gelato. If it was bright yellow, you knew the gelato wasn't going to be the best.If it was like a natural whitish brownish banana color, then you could trust it. I love these little tricks for testing authenticity.
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