I found a bag of tiger nuts while I was cleaning out my kitchen cupboards. I immediately thought of the summery Spanish drink horchata de chufa. In Spain large glasses of the tiger nut “milk” are served ice cold with lemon zest, cinnamon and heaps of sugar. I don’t really think you need the sugar, the tiger nut is sweet enough, but many Spaniards probably won’t agree with me!
The tiger nut is not really a nut at all, but a small tuber with tiger-like stripes. It does have a delicious nutty flavor. I really like the taste of tiger nut milk and am going to experiment to see what else I can make of it. I already started with a cake that I made with solids that were left over after I squeezed out the milk. That recipe will follow soon!
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Horchata de chufa
tiger nut milk
Voor ± 1 liter
250 g / 2½ cups tiger nuts
1 liter/ 4 cups of water
lemon zest to taste
ground cinnamon to taste
sugar to taste
Soak the tiger nuts in plenty of water for 1 day or 1 night. Change the water a few times if you can. After soaking, rinse the tiger nuts in a sieve of colander. Put the nuts in a blender or food processor with the water (You might have to work in batches if your machine is not big enought). Grind the nuts with the water for ± 2 min. or until they are finely ground. Pour into a sieve lined with a clean, well-rinsed tea towel and let the milk drip out. Then wring as much moisture out of the solids as possible. Mix with the lemon zest, cinnamon and sugar and leave to cool in the fridge. Serve with ice and sprinkle with some extra lemon zest and cinnamon.
Horchata can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. It also freezes well.
