Blai went to Barcelona a week earlier than I did and I had to spend that entire week hearing about how fabulous fartons were and how well they went with orxata and how I absolutely had to try them. (Go ahead and giggle at the name like a five year old – we did!)
As I was still in London, yes, it was a very frustrating week.
I made to Barcelona eventually where I got to fill up on these treats. We drank orxata out of wine glasses – ha! Actually, we didn’t want to dirty more glasses and so reused those from lunch.
We’ll start first with the orxata (that’s in Catalan. Horchata in Spanish). This milky looking drink originated in Valencia (mostly associated with the town of Alboraia) and is made from xufes (in Catalan but also spelled xufles, or chufas in Castilian), or tiger nuts, a little tuber about the size of a large chickpea. It’s a drink said to date back to the Moorish presence in Valencia (8th to 13th centuries). It’s sweetened and creamy yet refreshing and slightly grainy and if you want a drink to compare it to, I’ll say it’s not far off from soy bean milk. Mexican horchata is another beast altogether – that’s made from rice and cinnamon. It’s a very refreshing drink and can be bought all over Barcelona in the summer (along with granissats – icy slushy drinks not unlike Slurpees).
This is where Blai’s family purchase their orxata – Sirvent in Gràcia. You can drink it there or buy a bottle home. When you do the latter, the bottle is filled on the spot for you, by hand, using a ladle. This was the 2 litre bottle we bought.
This year, Sirvent started selling fartons, which were invented in Alboraia. A fartó is a long pastry that was designed to be dipped into orxata and originated in the Polo bakery 50 years ago. They’ve got a good chew and a spongy texture and it’s the combination of the two that allows it to soak up copious amounts of orxata without breaking. There’s a thin sugar glaze on the surface.
When you eat them all orxata soaked, they’re deceptively light. You bite and squish and bite and swallow and bite and slurp and chew and all the while exclaiming how light they are! and the next thing you know you’ve consumed two of the great big things and your tummy is starting to ache with all the food sloshing around in there (mainly because we had this after a big meal already). Whatever. They are delicious.
In the summer, Sirvent also sells a wide range of homemade ice creams (Blai recommends the very Catalan flavours of llet merengada and turró). In the winter, they sell turró (and that’ll be a whole other post come December!).
Sirvent
c/ Escorial 100
08024 Barcelona
Spain
By the by, does anyone know of a place that sells fresh orxata in London?
Wed, 11 Aug, 2010 at 23:38
Lovely post! Would love to try Orxata and Fartons. I have never heard of xufes. Thanks for the introduction!
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 03:34
would love to put my fingers into those lovely Fartons! and flooding myself with those white gem orxata
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 07:18
giggling at the name but they sound sooo good!
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 07:39
I’m thirsty and hungry just from reading this!
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 11:07
I had never heard of either of those things before so you have totally enlightened me Su-Lin. And yes I did have a giggle!
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 11:09
Sounds and looks very interesting. kind of looks like yakult and soy bean milk. would love to try!
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 13:37
I love horchata. I discovered it in San Francisco which has a large Hispanic community – So I thought it was wholly Mexican rather than Spanish/Catalan in origin. Next time I’m off to the US I’m tracking down jars of this to take home.
Thu, 12 Aug, 2010 at 22:56
Do you watch the IT Crowd on Channel 4? This reminds me of the final episode of the last series – watch the link 2mins 12secs in.
Fri, 13 Aug, 2010 at 22:09
Hehe. Horchata. Fartons. Hehe. Hehe.
Sat, 14 Aug, 2010 at 10:52
Mmm I love orxata! Had it for the first time at La Bouqueria in Barcelona.
Lol FARTONS.
xox Sarah
Sat, 14 Aug, 2010 at 12:48
Orxata sounds delicious.. even before you said it I was thinking yummmmm soy bean milk heheheh! And farton. I did giggle 🙂
Sun, 15 Aug, 2010 at 16:17
Love horchata/orxata!! Sadly I have no idea where to get it fresh, but you can get horchata bottled at cafe garcia on portobello rd.
Mon, 16 Aug, 2010 at 17:43
FARTONS! Bah ha ha ha! Great post, as always.
Mon, 16 Aug, 2010 at 19:36
FARTONS! I regret not trying these after reading your post. They looked kinda boring and stale in the packaging. Hate it when looks are deceiving! Must go back to Spain, I guess 😉
Tue, 17 Aug, 2010 at 11:51
Nadia: They’re excellent when the orxata is ice cold and the fartons nice and sugary.
Big Boys Oven: They are both indeed so delicious.
kat: They do have a rather unfortunate name (when considered in English)!
Ivan: I hope you got that sorted out!
Gourmet Chick: No problem! The fartons were new to me too.
Jessie: Not so much Yakult but definitely soy milk!
Robert: I wonder if the Spanish kind is available in the States?
Mr Noodles: OMG, that is absolutely hilarious! No, I don’t regularly watch it but
Wild Boar: hahahaha!
Sarah: What a fabulous place to be introduced to it!
catty: The flavour’s not far off from it!
buzzarfood: This is so good to know, thank you! Blai has now requested it!
Lizzie: Bwahahahahahaha!
Gastronomer: I adore them and already miss them. 😦
Wed, 18 Aug, 2010 at 02:03
Some of these dishes might have been disappointing, but they sure looked good!
Mon, 23 Aug, 2010 at 12:17
tee hee. orxata, delish. x shayma
Mon, 23 Aug, 2010 at 17:06
and what’s the proper booze mixing with orxata?
Wed, 25 Aug, 2010 at 19:36
ha ha fartons! I was in Spain for 2 weeks…a few days ago and ate fartons for breakfast. name still makes me laugh.
Sun, 29 Aug, 2010 at 23:33
ezsrecipes: The Chinese food? Yeah, some did look good. Some weren’t too bad!
shayma: 😀
DGB: Sorry, I have no idea if booze is mixed with orxata…I suspect not.
cooking in france: Yup, me too!
Mon, 3 Jun, 2013 at 19:06
[…] thrilled I was to see horchata on the menu! And yes, while everyone was sipping on cava and sangria, I happily stuck to my […]
Wed, 5 Jun, 2013 at 21:10
they sell it in casa mexico in Winkley Street London ;D
Thu, 17 Oct, 2013 at 09:10
[…] xufles or tigernuts in English or chufas in Spanish), the little tubers from which the milky drink orxata is made. Lucky for me, the stall had also posted a selection of recipes on their wall, one of them […]
Thu, 12 Jan, 2017 at 21:03
Bullshit! Orxata and fartons are exactly and originally from Valencia as you can see on the stickers (Xufa de Valencia Denominación de origen) and fartons has more than 50 years; is not a Catalan flavour, you should be documented before to post it, because is a large tradition from Valencia that we care more and more every day.
Thu, 12 Jan, 2017 at 21:13
I think you’ll see that I did say they are from Valencia…