Las Meninas - Horchata

From left: detail of Las Meninas, Fenice Red tumbler by Nasonmoretti (michaelcfina.com), and horchata (photo from Spain: A Culinary Road Trip by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow amazon.com)

You'll notice that the Infanta is being handed a small red cup, I am assuming for some refreshment of sorts.  So, I figured, I should get a little red cup too, for whenever I need a refreshment.  If the Infanta has one, I want one.  But then, what to put in the little red cup?  Well, how about some Horchata.  A very fittingly Spanish drink.  In Spain, horchata is made with tiger nuts.  I originally thought they were like lychee's or something, but it turns out they are not nuts, they are tubers.  So anyway, I tried some in when I was in Barcelona a couple of years ago, and I really didn't like it.  I guess I don't like tubers.  Then I tried a recipe from a lovely book I got for Christmas called "Spain: A Culinary Road Trip" by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow.  The recipe in the book is called Gwyneth's Horchata and its made with almonds, not tubers.  I like it much better. So here is the recipe to try yourself:


Gwyneth's Almond Horchata
Serves 2
1 cup blanched whole almonds, soaked overnight in 2 cups cold water
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cayenne pepper
2 cinnamon sticks

Put the almonds and their soaking water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.  Strain through a very fine strainer (discard the solids), and pour the almond milk back into the clean blender. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the blender, along with sugar and ground cinnamon; blend well. Pour into two glasses, sprinkle with cayenne, and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

copied from: Spain: A Culinary Road Trip by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow. HarperCollins. 2008.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention that Gwyneth's own cookbook which just came out, totally rocks my socks.  My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow (available at amazon.com) is a lovely, beautifully laid out cookbook, with great, easy, unfussy recipes.  I hate fussy recipes that are impossible to followand blab on and on (That’s right, Judy Rodgers, I am talking to you).  This book is none of that.  Good ingredients, clear directions, fabulous ideas.  Its just a gorgeous cookbook and its nice reading her intros to the recipes.  I’ve already tried her stuffed artichokes, and I photocopied a bunch of recipes to take with me to the South of France this summer.  She has a whole section on sandwiches and they all look amazing...especially the duck burger.  I had one in Rocamadour, it was so good.  I have to try hers. Yum!