Hallacas are rolls folded in plantain leaves, traditionally made with a corn-based dough filled with meat (beef, pork, or chicken), vegetables, fruits, and other ingredients like raisins, capers, and olives.
In Venezuela, hallacas are traditionally served during the Christmas season and have several regional variations.
They have different names depending on the region and filling, and they spread throughout the Spanish realms in the Americas up to the far south of Argentina.
They have been described as the national dish of Venezuela, and some speculate that they originated in the Orinoquia.
The characteristic of hallaca is the corn dough made with consommé or broth and lard colored with annatto.
In the Venezuelan Andean version, the hallacas are made with guiso crudo (raw filling), unlike the other versions as the meat filling is not precooked.
They are generally considered a tamales: a typical dish of many Latin American cultures, which are rolls traditionally made with a corn-based dough (masa), filled with meat, vegetables, fruits, or other ingredients.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Venezuelan
Ingredients
- 9 oz ground beef
- 9 oz ground beef
- 3.5 oz bacon (diced)
- 18 oz precooked white cornmeal
- 1.7 cups beef broth
- 3.5 oz butter
- to taste annatto
- to taste raisins
- to taste capers
- to taste pitted olives (sliced)
- to taste salt
Tools
- 2 plantain or banana leaves
- 1 Kitchen twine
Steps
Marinate the meat and bacon with the marinade ingredients for at least 1 hour.
Heat the butter and add the annatto.
Knead the cornmeal with the broth and melted butter. Adjust the salt.
Form about 10 balls of 100 grams each.
Prepare the plantain leaves (washed and cut), spreading oil on them, then fill with the corn masa spreading it, the meat, raisins, capers, and olives.
Tie the hallacas with the precut kitchen twine. Cross three times in each direction (horizontal and vertical) and close with a knot or bow.
Boil for 30 minutes.
N.B. To fold the hallacas, take the wider edges of the leaf and fold them upwards. Create a fold until completely sealed. Fold the other two ends inward and wrap it with the smaller leaf.
Hallacas elsewhere
Hallacas are also commonly consumed in the eastern part of Cuba, in Trinidad, where they are called Pastelle, as well as in parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Aruba, and Curaçao.
Together with humitas, they are a staple of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine.
In Nicaragua, they are known as Nacatamal, although the fillings are different.
In Nicaragua, they are known as Nacatamal, although the fillings are different.
In Aruba and Curaçao, they are called “ayaca” or “ayaka”.
The ingredients are: pork and chicken stew, or pork or chicken, capers, raisins, cashews, bell pepper, pickled onions, prunes, and olives.
The dough is made of white corn flour, and the ayaca leaves are first spread with lard or oil.
The cooked meat and other ingredients are wrapped in ayaca leaves, tied with twine, and then boiled for about 2 hours.
The flavors in ayaca vary from family to family, and some add Madam Jeanette peppers.
The flavors in ayaca vary from family to family, and some add Madam Jeanette peppers.
In Puerto Rican cuisine, the dish is called “hayaca”.
Unlike the Venezuelan variety, the Puerto Rican hayaca is not made with corn but with cassava, broth, milk, pork fat cooked with annatto, and banana leaf, and cooked over a traditional wood fire.
It is typically filled with cubed pork braised with sofrito, annatto oil (or olive oil or lard), olives, capers, chickpeas, raisins, and spices.
It is typically filled with cubed pork braised with sofrito, annatto oil (or olive oil or lard), olives, capers, chickpeas, raisins, and spices.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the history behind the origin of Hallaca?
It is said that the hallaca was invented by slaves during the colonial era.
Slaves prepared the Christmas Eve meal for the landowners and filled the hallacas with leftover meat for their Christmas meal.
One version of the origin story says that the daughter of a landowner family asked to taste the hallacas.
She and her family liked them so much that they became part of the traditional festive meal for all economic classes.What are the Christmas traditions in Venezuela?
Christmas meals in Venezuela included hallacas, pastries, and chicken stew, but not all families were able to afford them during the famine in Venezuela.
In 2013, there was an economic crisis in Venezuela, following the collapse of oil prices, expropriations, and currency control restrictions.
