Mexican Rice Horchata

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cinnamon stick (Mexican canela if you can find it), broken
• 4 cups water, divided
• 1 cup whole milk (or more water for a dairy-free version)
• 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ice and ground cinnamon, to serve

Steps

1. Rinse the rice. Soak it with the cinnamon stick in 2 cups hot water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Pour the rice, cinnamon and soaking water into a blender and blend on high until as smooth as possible, about 2 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Discard the solids.
4. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, the milk, sugar and vanilla until the sugar dissolves. Chill well.
5. Stir before pouring, since it settles, and serve over ice with a pinch of ground cinnamon.

TipKeeps 3 days in the fridge. Shake or stir each time you pour.