Pumpkin Seed Horchata

Drinks have weird names now that not all Americans are familiar with.  Horchata, Chai, Kombucha (that one set off the spell-checker).  What happened to good 'ol tea?

After reading this article about horchata in the L.A. Times, I realized that I've made it before.  The grapefruit barley water out of the Tea book is a form of horchata.  So are almond, rice, and soy milk.  It's about suspending a starch or nut/seed in water in a way that it doesn't settle out completely.  You usually have to shake them some, but the suspension should hold for a couple of days.

The recipe in the Times is amazingly easy.  Pour water over seeds and spices, refrigerate overnight, and run through the blender with a little sugar and salt.  It takes more effort to strain out the chunks than anything else.  I'm posting a half batch, since this blog usually serves 4 and I only had enough cash in my wallet for 1 cup of pumpkin seeds.  I'm not putting $2.25 on a credit card.

A quick word about the sugar.  I only used half of what I'm posting, and it was just barely sweet enough.  What really came through was the spices, which is what I wanted.  If you regularly drink soda or sweetened espresso drinks, your taste buds will probably prefer the full amount.

1 C raw, shelled pumpkin kernels
1 qt water
*1 cinnamon stick
*3 allspice berries
1/4 C light brown or turbinado sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1.  Combine pumpkin seeds, water, cinnamon stick, and allspice in a bowl.  Let sit at room temperature for two hours or in the fridge overnight.

2.  Add sugar and salt and run mixture through the blender, in batches if necessary, until smooth.  This will take 3 to 4 minutes.  You're creating the suspension, so the kernels need to be broken down as much as possible.

3.  Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.  I started with a food mill on the finest screen so I could push the liquid through, then used a regular strainer for a second go.  Discard the solids, or combine them with an egg white and sugar to make macaroons.  (Sorry, I'm always trying to avoid waste.)

4.  If too thick for your personal taste, add water.  Serve over ice, or refrigerate up to 3 days.  You may need to shake it a little to distribute the suspension if it sits a day.

Makes up to 1 quart

Difficulty rating  π