Einkorn Horchata

In many countries, locals enjoy a traditional beverage that is made by grinding and soaking nuts or grains. In Mexico and Latin America, this beverage is called horchata and is made with a unique combination of rice, water, sugar, cinnamon, almonds, cashew, vanilla, cocoa or other spices. In Spain, it is called orxata and in Italy orzata because it is made with barley cooking water. I started experimenting with horchata a year ago because my daughter is lactose intolerant and I thought it might taste great with the flavor of our einkorn wheatberries. I had a friend of Peruvian descent stop by one day when I was making a batch and he shared a fond memory of his elderly relatives in Peru at the table in conversation, always with a glass of their refreshing barley water in hand. I love old traditions and the vivid recollection of my friend’s family ritual made me even fonder of this beverage.

We have found that the best way to make einkorn horchata is to cook the wheatberries for 25 minutes, drain them and then soak them for about 8-12 hours. When horchata is made with white rice, the uncooked grain is ground and then soaked and when it is made with barley, the grain is cooked and the beverage is just the flavored cooking water. When you cook the einkorn grain and soak it, you will then blend on high until creamy, but about a cup of cracked grain will remain. This cracked and cooked einkorn tastes like the bulgur used to make tabbouleh or like a coarse oat bran cereal, so you can enjoy everything with no waste.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup einkorn wheat berries, uncooked
• 10 cups of filtered water
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ¹⁄3 cup of sugar or ¼ cup of honey or more to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook einkorn in 2 cups of water with salt for 20 minutes. Drain and let cool.
2. Soak the cooked einkorn in 8 cups of water in a sealed glass pitcher in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
3. Pour the water and all of the cooked einkorn in your blender with sugar or honey and blend on liquify or the highest setting for 2-3 minutes. Strain the beverage through a fine sieve lined with cheese cloth, squeezing all of the water from the cooked grain.
4. Now you can use your imagination to flavor this creamy beverage with your choice of cinnamon, chai spices, matcha green tea or fruit.
5. Don’t forget to scrape the remaining grain from the cheesecloth and serve it like tabbouleh salad or save it for the morning and serve warmed with maple syrup, raisins and nuts.