The Christmas hallacas are one of the most popular dishes from Venezuela. They were created around the 15th century thanks to the servants who made this dish with leftovers in order to have extra food. Regarding the elaboration of the hallacas, we emphasize that there are multiple combinations depending on the country: Colombian hallacas, Ecuadorian hallacas, and Creole hallacas, among others. We emphasize that the base ingredients are the same, but they differ due to the different fillings. The Christmas hallaca has as its main ingredient corn flour, pork, chicken breast, achiote oil, carrot and potato, all these ingredients are cooked wrapped in a banana leaf.
Ingredients to make Christmas Hallacas:
• 300 grams of pork (loin or leg)
• 600 grams of beef
• 1 chicken breast
• 100 grams of bacon
• 150 grams of green olives
• 25 bijou leaves
• 2 medium white onions
• ½ pore
• 3 sprigs of chives
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 20 grams of capers
• 2 red bell peppers
• 30 grams of raisins
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 tablespoon corn flour
Dough
• 900 grams of cornmeal (7½ cups)
• 1 cup of water (240 milliliters
How to make Christmas Hallacas:
To start with the easy Christmas hallacas recipe, it is first necessary to have all the chopped vegetables. The white onion in small squares, the half-moon leek, the chives, also known as Chinese onion, cut into small squares, the garlic finely cut and the pepper in strips.
Cook the chicken breast. We point out that it is recommended to add a piece of leek or celery when cooking the chicken. When it is ready, frayed and stored, it is important not to discard the poultry stock.
In a medium pot, add a splash of achiote oil and add the white onion in squares. Cook until transparent.
Tip: add a pinch of salt.
Add the finely chopped garlic and the leek. Next, add the chives and bell pepper. Mix with the help of a tablespoon and cook approximately 5 minutes over low heat. Add the beef and pork. Move and add the salt, pepper and red wine. Let the alcohol in the wine evaporate.
When you no longer feel the smell of alcohol, add half a cup of chicken broth and cook for approximately 25 minutes. After the indicated time, add the previously frayed chicken breast.
In a small container, add 1 tablespoon of cornmeal with a splash of chicken broth and dilute. Add the corn dissolved in the stew and stir. Let cook approximately 4 minutes. In a medium bowl, add the cornmeal for the dough and a pinch of salt. Add 2 tablespoons of achiote oil and move with the help of your hands.
Gradually add the poultry stock and form a dough. Stretch the banana leaves, add a ball of dough and stretch it.
Trick: you can add a layer of achiote oil on the surface of the leaf so it doesn’t stick.
Place the stew, the olives, the pepper, the raisins and a slice of bacon.
Trick: the size of the hallaca varies according to consumer preference.
Wrap it with another banana leaf and tie it with the help of a wick. Bring a pot of water to a boil for about 30 minutes. Enjoy the Christmas hallacas hot and tell us in the comments what you think of this Venezuelan recipe.
Nutritional value of Christmas hallacas
For each portion of hallaca (approximately 300 grams) there are 589 kcal, 41.1g of fat, 32.84g of carbohydrates, 23.6g of protein, 6.36g of sugar, 2.9g of fiber, 3.18g of salt, 112 mg of cholesterol and 576 mg of potassium.
