Hallaca

Category
FOOD

Language
SPANISH

Hallaca is a traditional dish from Venezuela. It is one of the many types of tamal that exist throughout America, although different in flavor, texture, ingredients, and cultural significance than the other types of tamales. Like all the tamales, its origin is indigenous, but in the case of the Hallaca, raisins, capers, olives, and sometimes bits of bacon were added, ingredients unknown to the Native Americans in pre-Columbian America, and which were brought by the settlers from the Iberian peninsula. Hallaca consists of corn dough stuffed with a stew of beef, pork, or chicken and other ingredients such as raisins, capers, and olives, fresh onion rings, red and green bell pepper slices. There are vegetarian hallacas, made with black beans or tofu.[2] Hallacas are folded in plantain leaves, tied with strings, and boiled. The dish is traditionally served during the Christmas season and has several regional variants. It has been described as a national dish of Venezuela. Some speculate it originated from the Orinoquia.[1] Characteristic of the hallaca is the delicate corn dough made with consommé or broth, and lard colored with annatto. Hallacas are also commonly eaten in eastern Cuba,[3][4] Trinidad where it is called pastelle,[5] and parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Aruba, and Curaçao.

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