Two glasses and a jug of horchata next to a bowl of tiger nuts

Horchata de Valencia

Name: Horchata de Valencia
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 250g chufa de Valencia (tiger nuts); sugar to taste; cinnamon stick (optional)

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Serves 4 - 6

Easy

Prep: 20 mins

plus 8-24 hrs soaking and chilling time

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Enjoy this traditional Spanish plant-based drink made using chufa (tiger nuts). Horchata de Valencia is easy to make and a nutritional powerhouse

Gluten free

Low salt

Low sugar

Vegan

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Make this horchata de Valencia, then check out our torrijas, sangria and more Spanish recipes.

Recipe author Marcia Barrington says: “Wrinkly Valencia chufa or tiger nuts (they’re not really nuts but little earthy tubers) have been cultivated in Spain for centuries and are the essential ingredient in horchata. Grown locally on the flat coastal plains of Alboraya – orxata or horchata – is the traditional Valencia refresher you’ll find all over the city and beyond. Easy to make and a nutritional powerhouse, traditional horchata will nourish you not only in summer but all year round.”

Recipe tip: Reuse the pulp and make a traditional coca de llanda cake. Follow @marciabarrington for the recipe.

Horchata recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

250g chufa de Valencia

(tiger nuts)
sugar

to taste
cinnamon stick

(optional)

Nutrition: per serving

kcal127
fat6.9g
saturates1.2g
carbs12.7g
sugars4.5g

low
fibre4.5g
protein1.3g
salt0g

low

Method

step 1

Soak 250g chufa (tiger nuts) in water for 8-24 hrs, changing the water twice. Drain well in a colander.
step 2

Put half the soaked chufa and 500ml water in a blender and blitz for 1 min. Using a sieve, strain the liquid into a bowl and press the pulp against the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. Reserve the pulp to use later in rice puddings, pancakes or coca de llanda cake (see below).
step 3

Repeat the blitz-and-strain process with the rest of the chufa. Strain all the liquid through the sieve one last time, add sugar to taste and the cinnamon stick, if using. Leave to chill in the fridge until ice cold.

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