My house is a complete mess, yet I don't seem to care (though I should cause I'm the one who's gonna have to clean later) I have yet to teach my youngest that the ornaments in the tree are to look at and not to play with, a bit hard given the fact that my oldest still grabs and plays with them!
There are toys everywhere! But today, we make HALLACAS!!
For those of you who might not know, Hallacas are a HUGE part of Venezuelan Christmas tradition, if not the center of it. As soon as December hits, most homes get filled with the smell of the stew, plantain leaves and all the yummy ingredients. Recipes are passed on by generation after generation each one with their uniqueness, always adding that particular touch of every family. This year is the first year me and husband are making them our way, talking a bit for each recipe we know and love and putting our own flavor on them!
"The Venezuelan Hallaca is a mixture of flavors, consisting of a kind of bun or tamale of corn dough that is flattened on a banana leaf, which incorporates a rich stew of beef, pork and chicken, complemented with touches of olives, raisins, capers, paprika, onion, onoto and even wine, to give that particular sweet-salty flavor"
The process has a few key parts, being the first one the making of the stew, followed by the kneading of the dough:
The base for this stew is chicken/Hen stock, there we add beef and pork in little cubes to soften along with some veggies, i used onion, leek, garlic, red peppers, capers, chives, a bit of salt and pepper. When the meats are soft and cooked, i stir-fried the dressings and, as it needs to get thick i add some corn meal and red cooking wine until it gets the right consistency. Then it's time to get the dough ready, normally, it is kneaded by hand BUT, the magic of kitchen instruments allowed us to get an even smoother dough kneaded in the kitchen aid mixer (best buy of the pandemic). This dough is made with corn meal, sugar, salt, red cooking wine, and oil mixed with onoto seeds to give it that bright characteristic yellow color. Some like to keep the dough resting, but i find more convenient to use right away so the air won't spoil and dry it, so, when done we start making small balls of dough and putting them flat on top of a plantain leaf in which we'll wrap it all up.
The ingredients to add as toppings may vary depending on the region, but, the most traditionals are raisins, olives, onions, green and red peppers, chicken and pickled veggies. Other options are eggs and even chickpeas.
Once that's all done, we wrapped them in the leaves and put into boiling water for two hours for it to cook perfectly and let all the ingredients mix and squeeze all the flavor into it.
After that, it's time to eat!. Traditionally, the dish goes with chicken salad, pork and a slice of a especial holiday bread made with ham, raisins and olives ("Pan de Jamon")and that's what most homes do as Christmas dinner, but, honestly if we could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it'd be fine too
Truth be told, beyond being a delicious dish and eating them a beautiful tradition, the best part of it all is the time spent in family, enjoying each other's company and creating new memories for the next generations
