Horchata de chufa is Valencia's great summer refreshment: a pale, creamy, naturally dairy free drink made by grinding soaked tiger nuts with water and squeezing out their milk. Tiger nuts are not nuts at all but the small wrinkled tubers of a sedge grown around the village of Alboraya, just north of the city, where the crop carries its own protected designation. Valencians drink horchata in the late afternoon at an horchatería, dipping long, soft, sugar glazed buns called fartons into the glass and considering the day well spent.

Valencia hosted the European Grand Prix on its harbor streets between 2008 and 2012, in exactly the kind of heat this drink was invented for. It tastes of almond, vanilla and something earthier, and it is served barely above freezing.

The horchata

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (250 g) dried tiger nuts
• 4 cups (1 liter) very cold water
• 1/2 cup (110 g) sugar
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 strip lemon peel

Method

1. Put the tiger nuts in the colander and rinse well under cold running water, rubbing them between your hands to remove grit. Put them in the large bowl, cover with plenty of cold water and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water once or twice.
2. Drain the tiger nuts and rinse them several times in fresh cold water, rubbing them, until the water runs clear. Pick out any that look dark or shriveled.
3. Put the tiger nuts in the blender with 2 cups (480 ml) of the very cold water. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to let the motor rest if it gets warm.
4. Pour the paste into the nut milk bag or cloth lined sieve set over the bowl. Twist the bag or gather the cloth and squeeze firmly with both hands until no more milk comes out.
5. Put the pulp back in the blender with the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) cold water, blend for 1 minute and squeeze again into the same bowl. Throw away the pulp, or dry it in a low oven to use as flour.
6. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves completely. Add the cinnamon stick and lemon peel if using. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until very cold. Remove the cinnamon and lemon before serving.

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