Venezuela: vegan hallacas

We’re back in South America for a visit to Venezuela were we make vegan hallacas, a Venezuelan Christmas must-have. These treats are cooked in banana leaves and consist of corn dough filled with a sweet and sour stew, raisins, olives and almonds. Read on to learn more about Venezuelan cuisine as well as traditional and vegan hallacas or jump straight to the recipe.

Venezuelan cuisine

Venezuela lies along the northern coast of South America and has a long Caribbean coastline and inland mountainous regions ​[1]​. Venezuela was colonized by Spain and today, Venezuelan cuisine is a blend of Indigenous and African cuisines with a touch of Spanish, European and Caribbean influences ​[1], [2]​. Ingredients include corn, plantain, cassava, and rice as well as fruits like guava, coconut and avocado. Vegetables like squash, potato, peppers, and tomatoes are common. Seafood is plentiful and many land animals and dairy, in particular white cheese, are common in many dishes.

Among the many popular dishes, you can find arepas – a simple fried cornbread that is cut open to create something like a sandwich or stuffed pita filled with vegetables, cheese or meat ​[1], [3]​. A similar dish is patacón zuliano where flattened, fried plantain takes the role of the arepa ​[2]​. The fried plantain is filled or covered with tomatoes, lettuce and meat. Fried plantain is also a side dish served with Venezuela’s national dish pabellon criollo – shredded beef with black beans. Empanadas, which we cooked for our visit to Argentina, are also commonplace in Venezuela ​[3]​. For Christmas, Venezuelan families often gather to cook festive hallacas – stuffed corn dough cooked in banana leaves.

Hallacas

Hallacas (pronounced ah-ya-kas) are a traditional Venezuelan food enjoyed by everyone. To prepare hallacas, a rich meat-based stew and toppings like olives, almonds and raisins are wrapped in corn dough which itself is wrapped in banana leaves and boiled or steamed. The resulting corn package is similar to Mexican tamales, Guatemealan chuchitos and many other related dough packets from South and Central America ​[4]​.

The traditional hallaca has been around for a long time and there are a few different creation stories ​[5]​. One story places the origin to some 500 years ago, during the early colonial days. Indigenous and African enslaved people would receive leftovers from the Spanish slaveholders’ Christmas dinner. They would wrap these in a corn dough and add whatever goodies were at hand. The stuffed dough was then cooked in banana leaves and the hallaca was born, combining European, Indigenous and African ingredients and traditions. Another origin story has it that the Spanish colonists adopted the local tamale and tried to improve it by adding the Spanish ingredients we see today ​[5]​.

Regardless of the origin, the resulting hallaca is now eaten as a Christmas dish throughout Venezuela and makes up one of the main dishes during Christmas family get-togethers ​[5]–[8]​. In late December, Venezuelan families gather to assemble and cook hallacas. The kitchen is transformed into a small factory where everyone has their station, from cutting and washing banana leaves to adding filling and wrapping the packages. While the task is laborious, gathering everyone to share the burden while playing music and drinking holiday drinks makes for a nice tradition to look forward to during the year.

Hallaca recipe

In my quest for a representative vegan hallacas recipe, I read through or watched over 15 traditional or vegan hallacas recipes ​[6]–[21]​. And it appears pretty much everyone has their own recipe. By reading and watching this many recipes, I tried to identify what is at the heart of the dish so I could better create a vegan hallacas recipe.

Guiso recipe

Starting with the traditionally meat-based stew, guiso, there are several differences and similarities. Bell pepper (red or green) and sometimes sweet peppers, are in almost all guiso recipes. All recipes use two or more of onion, leek, green onion and garlic. A big divider seems to be the use of tomatoes. Roughly half the recipes use some form of tomatoes (canned, fresh or paste) while the other recipes don’t. Many recipes omit spices completely. Among the common guiso spices, cumin and oregano dominate. Sometimes the vegetables are blended ​[9], [12], [13]​ but most often they are just chopped. Many recipes also call for adding some raisins, capers, and/or olives to the stew ​[7], [11], [14]–[16]​, or even some pickled vegetables ​[7], [11]​, mustard ​[12], [21]​ or Worchestershire sauce ​[6], [7], [11]–[13]​.

One thing most agree on is that guiso is made with wine. The most commonly used wine is a Venezuelan sweet, red cooking wine ​[11]​ which can best be replaced with marsala wine ​[6], [11]​. But your preferred red drinking wine with some extra sugar in the guiso works almost as well ​[7], [9], [11]​. The wine, and sometimes vinegar, together with tomatoes, capers, Worcestershire sauce, pickled vegetables, mustard and sugar combine to create the sweet, tangy and slightly sour guiso that lies at the heart of the hallaca.

Hallaca dough

Once the guiso (which can be made a day or two in advance) is ready it is time to make the dough. The dough is based on pre-cooked corn flour, not nixtaminized corn flour, like maza harina (see photo below in the gallery). In addition to flour, the dough includes water or stock and some vegetable oil or lard. Annato seeds are used to stain the dough a deep red or orange. A minority of chefs like to add something extra to their dough, such as garlic or garlic powder ​[6], [7]​, sugar ​[6], [14]​, or blended roasted peppers ​[12], [13]​.

When the dough is ready, it is flattened out on a banana leaf (sometimes a smoked banana leaf ​[9]–[11]​). A dollop of guiso is added followed by the chef’s choice of toppings, ranging from olives, capers, and onions to almonds, bell pepper, and raisins. The dough is folded over and the hallaca is wrapped in the banana leaf. The hallacas are then either boiled or steamed.

No banana leaves?

As an experiment, I wrapped one of the vegan hallacas in parchment paper followed by aluminum foil to test the impact of the banana leaves. This worked really well. The hallaca held together beautifully and was very similar to the ones wrapped in banana leaves. The banana leaves do impart some flavour though – a perceptible smell and flavor of green tea. If you can find banana leaves where you live, do get them. Look for frozen leaves in Asian grocery stores. (I also found it fun to work with the leaves, they are very tough yet pliable and soft.) But if you can’t find them, don’t let it stop you from making vegan hallacas.

Vegan hallacas

Making a vegan hallacas recipe takes a bit of effort. The dough itself is simple. Some recipes use lard but most simply use vegetable oil. The occasional chicken stock can be replaced with vegetable stock but many chefs use water instead of stock.

The guiso, the meat stew, is a bit trickier to make vegan. The vegan versions I’ve found make a vegetable stew similar to the traditional guiso and replace the meat with something that has a bit of texture to it. Terry Hope Romero (of Veganomicon and Vegan Eats World fame) uses seitan in her recipe ​[6]​ while other recipes use soy chunks ​[20]​, mushrooms, chickpeas and lentils ​[14]​, or tofu ​[19]​. I also came across a jackfruit-based guiso with black beans ​[18]​ and another with eggplant ​[21]​. Some cooks add a bit of smokiness with smoked paprika ​[14]​ or chipotle ​[18]​ (in lieu of bacon which is sometimes used in guiso) or a bit of soy sauce ​[21]​ for extra umami. Worchestershire sauce, which is often found in guiso, also helps here.

Annatto seeds

Annatto seeds, or achiote seeds, are used in the hallaca dough to give it its signature yellow to orange colour. The seeds are used as a traditional food colour in large parts of South America and the Carribbean, as well as some other cuisines, such as the Filipines ​[22]​. In most hallaca recipes, the red colour is extracted by heating the seeds in oil but the seeds can also be ground. They are said to have an earthy, slightly peppery flavour but I did not detect anything. I found annatto seeds in the local Latin American store but if you can’t find them, I don’t think it should prevent you from making your own vegan hallacas.

Conclusion

Hallacas are really popular and it was easy to find very many recipes for this dish. And it’s true what most of them said: making hallacas takes a bit of effort. But if you prepare the guiso in advance, the day you cook the hallacas becomes all about assembly. If you get some friends or family members to come over, you can make it into a fun event. Regardless, the effort is worth it. The hallacas are very tasty and full of complex flavours. The guiso is the star of the show and I think the recipe below turned out really well. Sour and tangy from the wine, vinegar and Worchester sauce and a little sweet from the added sugar.

If you can’t find banana leaves, don’t worry about it and just use parchment paper and aluminum foil. I tried it and it worked just as well. The banana leaves add a little flavour similar to green tea but you won’t miss much. Maybe a pinch of macha powder can make up for it. Likewise, if you can’t find annatto seeds, just make white hallacas (or maybe use some red and yellow food colour).
I’m happy I made these vegan hallacas, one more type of tamale-like dish in my repertoire. Let me know if you give it a try. Maybe it becomes a new Christmas favourite in your home.

Vegan hallacas recipe

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Vegan hallaca

Course Main Course

Cuisine South American

Keyword Christmas, corn flour, tamales

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 hallacas

Ingredients

Annatto oil

• 200 mL canola
• 1 tbsp annatto seeds

Guiso

• 1 tbsp Annatto oil or vegetable oil
• ½ leek, finely chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ red pepper, chopped
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• 1 can jack fruit in brine, drained
• 200 mL chopped tomatoes, canned
• 2 tbsp tomato puré
• 200 mL red wine
• 2 tsp Vegan Worchester sauce
• 1 tsp Marmite or soy sauce optional
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp/cube vegetable stock powder or cube
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp smoked paprika optional
• 1 tsp black pepper
• chili powder, to taste optional
• salt, to taste

Dough

• 100 mL Annatto oil or vegetable oil
• 450 mL Precooked corn flour
• 500 mL vegetable stock or water as needed
• ½ tsp salt

Filling per hallaca

• 3-4 tbsp guiso (made here)
• 1 red pepper slices
• 1 onion slice
• 2 green olives, deseeded
• 5 raisins
• 5 capers
• 2 almonds

Wrapping

• 12 pcs banana leaves, 25×30 cm OR see note
• 6 pcs parchment paper, 25×30 cm, AND
• 6 pcs aluminum foil, 25×30 cm
• kitchen twine for leaves

Instructions

Annatto stained oil

• Add oil and annatto seeds to a small pot on medium heat. Stir for 5-10 minutes until the oil has a deep orange colour.
• Strain out and discard the annatto seeds. Set the oil aside to cool.

Guiso

• Heat 1 tbsp of the annatto oil in a large pot on medium to high heat. Add onion, leek and garlic and sweat until translucent.
• Add bell peppers and jackfruit and continue cooking for a few minutes.
• Stir in wine and crushed tomatoes. Add all other ingredients for the guiso.
• Simmer for 30 minutes, until the jackfruit is soft and starting to fall apart.
• Crush and divide the jackfruit pieces with a spoon or fork.
• If the guiso is too wet, let it simmer without a lid so the water can evaporate.
• Alternately, thicken it by taking some of the liquid into a bowl and stirring in corn flour. Return corn flour slurry to pot.
• Taste the guiso, It should be sour, tangy and sweet.
• Set aside and let cool. The guiso can be prepared a few days in advance to save time.

Dough

• Prepare the dough by mixing flour and salt.
• Add the annatto oil and stir in.
• Add water, a little at a time and work it into the dough. The dough should be quite wet and yo should be able to form it into discs quite easily.

  I ended up adding 500 mL water to 450 mL flour with 100 mL oil.
• Cover in clingfilm and let rest for 20 minutes.

Banana leaves and filling

• Meanwhile, prepare the filling by slicing peppers and onions and locating the other ingredients.
• Prepare the banana leaves, if using, by wiping with a wet towel. Wipe along the fibres, not perpendicular or you risk breaking the leafs.
• Cut the leaves or parchment paper into 25×30 cm rectangles.

Assembly and cooking

• Place a banana leaf rectangle or parchment paper on the table. Apply a light coating of annatto stained oil.
• Add a large handful of dough and flatten it out to create a disc of about 15-18 cm in diameter and ~3-5 mm in thickness.
• Add a generous dollop of guiso to the center of the disc and add the other fillings (onion, pepper, almonds, etc.) , as desired.
• Fold up the leaf to shape the dough disc first into a "taco shape" and then a closed cylinder. Roll down the leaf edge.
• Fold the ends of the leaf into the center and then place your bundle onto a second leaf rectangle or a piece of aluminum foil. Wrap the bundle in the second leaf or aluminum foil.

  If using a leaf, tie it closed using kitchen twine.
• When all hallaca are finished, add them to a pot of simmering water and boil for 30-40 minutes
• Move to a colander and let cool slightly. Serve wrapped in leaves but discard the leaves before eating.

Notes

Guiso: This recipe makes enough guiso for about 10 hallaca.

Banana leaves: two banana leaves are used to wrap the hallaca. Can often be bought frozen in Asian grocery stores. Can be substituted for an inner layer of parchment paper and an outer layer of aluminum foil.

References