The Hallacas Tradition

If Venezuela has a "national dish," it's hallacas, served at Christmastime and throughout the New Year holiday. Similar in architecture to the Mexican tamale, the hallaca is a cornmeal-based pocket that can sport any mixture of ingredients--often, some blend of beef, pork, or chicken with vegetables. Leading up to the holiday, Venezuelan families form assembly lines to prepare tens--if not hundreds--of hallacas, which are enjoyed at holiday meals and when company visits.

Though every family has their own recipe--a little twist or tweak to the tradition that makes the dish unique--the process of wrapping and cooking the hallacas is fairly uniform: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jmEtxObGm0&feature=PlayList&p=C217CC8DF6722C

While Carolina's mother was visiting from Venezuela this year, the two donned their chefs' attire and spent two days making a batch for friends and family. Here's how they did it:

Hallacas
Note: This is a two-day process. The stew should be make the first day and set aside--as to let the flavors meld and give you time to prepare the dough and the ornamentation before the whole package is assembled, wrapped and cooked.

Ingredients for Stew
2lbs. pork
4lbs. beef4lbs. hen, boned, boiled and cut; 1lb. bacon, cubed and fried
3lb. onions, cubed
1lb. leeks, diced
½ lb. green onion cut¾ cup peeled and crushed garlic½ cup capers 1lb. red pepper, seeded and julienned
4lbs. seedless, crushed tomatoes 1 cup raisins¼ cup sweet pepper, finely chopped
2 cups of Muscatel wine (or any other sweet wine like Marsala)1 cup red wine vinegar1lb. Papelón (Or you can substitute equal weight of brown sugar or sugar cane)2/3 cup cornmealSaltPepperOil with onoto seed
Ingredients for the ornamentation:1.5lbs. seeded, red pepper, julienned
1/2lb. chicken breast, cut into strips1lb. onions, sliced into rings1/2lb. capers1lb. stuffed olives with pimentos 1lb. raisinsOptional: Shelled almonds, pickled in vinegar
Ingredients for the dough:2 ½ packets of corn flour (Harina Pan)5 cups lard3 cups chicken broth2 cups waterSaltSeed onotoBanana leaves:50 pieces of banana leaves approximately 30x30 cm.50 pieces of banana leaves approximately 20x20 cm.50 strips of banana leaves approximately 15x20 cm.1 roll of twine

Day 1 Stew Preparation: Make sure meat does not have excess of fat and cut into small cubes, cook each meat separately in boiling water with celery and onion, without softening completely, reserve broth. (Note: Save any bacon grease--and finely blend any bits of bacon--to add to the dough the next day, if you'd like.)

In a large pot sauté onions and garlic in hot oil until transparent; add the leek and onions and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the red pepper and sweet pepper; let cook a few more minutes Cube and add all meat. Let them mix for a while and add all other ingredients with the wine and tomatoes the last to add. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break apart and issolve papelón (brown sugar) in water and cornmeal. You need to make sure not to dry the stew and add chicken or beef broth. Add little papelón and cornmeal dissolved (like a roué), and stir with a wooden paddle.

Add the onoto oil for color, and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until it reaches the consistency and thickness you desire. Reserve overnight.

Day Two Preparation: Pour cornmeal (Harina Pan) into a container large enough to allow you to mix it. Use one part (1 cup) boiled with onoto (strain and discard the seeds), and approximately three parts (or 3 cups) of it prepared without the coloring/onoto. Add salt, and mix well. Little by little, add approximately 3 cups of chicken broth/stock, and continue to mix until the dough is soft and pliable.

Take a large banana leaf, and grease with a little of onoto oil. In the center, place a ball of the cornmeal dough, and using your fingers (with plastic wrap) or a cutting board, flatten it until it's about 1/8-inch thick, creating a symmetrical circle.

Next, add the (cold) stew, and the ornamental vegetables (perhaps two onion rings, a couple of olives, a couple of pepper strips, the almonds and capers).

Using the banana leaf, fold the hallaca into a rectangular shape, making sure the ends are closed. Wrap entire again with a smaller banana leaf; tie with a strip of banana leaf, and secure the entire package with twine (crossed twice on each end, like ribbon on a gift).

Cook in a large pan of boiling water for one hour. Remove and drain. Allow to cool completely, and if possible, wait an entire day to serve, as the flavors will intensify. When ready to serve, simply reheat by placing them in boiling water for 20 minutes, removing them, and allowing them to drain.

Hallacas will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks—and for several months if they're frozen. When reheating frozen hallacas, boil for 40 minutes (or defrost overnight and boil for 20 minutes).