Hallacas — Venezuelan Christmas Tamales

About This Recipe

Hallacas are Venezuela's most important food: a complex, deeply flavoured tamale-like dish prepared as a family ritual in the weeks before Christmas. A dark annatto-coloured cornmeal dough is spread on softened banana leaves, filled with a rich guiso (stew) of beef, pork and chicken cooked with peppers, onions, capers, olives and raisins, then wrapped into a neat rectangular package and boiled. The preparation takes an entire day and involves the whole family working in assembly-line fashion — grandmothers, parents and children each with a specific task. The result is extraordinary: the banana leaf imparts a green, herbal quality to the corn dough, while the filling is a perfectly balanced sweet-savoury harmony. Hallacas are made once a year and define Venezuelan Christmas.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 500 gmasarepa (pre-cooked cornmeal)
• 100 mlannatto (onoto) oil(oil infused with annatto seeds)
• 500 mlchicken stock(warm)
• 200 gpork shoulder(diced small)
• 200 gchicken thigh(diced small)
• 200 gbeef(diced small)
• 1 largeonion(finely diced)
• 1 largered bell pepper(finely diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2 tablespoonscapers
• 50 ggreen olives
• 50 graisins
• 1 teaspoonWorcestershire sauce
• 8 largebanana leaves(softened over a flame)
• 1 teaspoonsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the guiso (filling)

   Fry onion, pepper and garlic in annatto oil for 5 minutes. Add all the meats and brown. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and enough water to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes until tender. Add capers, olives and raisins. Cool completely.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   Mix masarepa with annatto oil, warm chicken stock and salt to form a smooth, pliable dough the colour of deep orange. Rest 10 minutes.

   The annatto oil gives the dough its signature golden-orange colour — it is essential to authentic hallacas.

3. 3

   Assemble

   Wipe banana leaf squares with a damp cloth. Rub lightly with annatto oil. Press a ball of dough into a thin oval in the centre. Spoon filling onto one half. Garnish with an olive, a raisin and a strip of red pepper. Fold the leaf over and tuck to form a neat rectangle. Tie firmly with string.

4. 4

   Boil and serve

   Boil hallacas in a large pot of salted water for 45 minutes. Remove, rest for 10 minutes, untie and unwrap the leaf at the table.

Variations

• •

  Each Venezuelan region has its own hallaca style — some use different filling ratios or add potatoes.

• •

  Hallacas can be frozen after boiling for up to 1 month — reheat by boiling for 15 minutes.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat by boiling for 15 minutes or microwaving.

Frequently Asked Questions