Venezuelan popular dish in the holiday season, is one of the most elaborate dishes of the Venezuelan cuisine but of greatest joy because it reminds us of Christmas. The hallaca comes from the time of conquest, each ingredient has its history, from the banana leaf that wraps it, used by the Indians, to their fill and ornaments influenced by the Spanish colonizers. The hallaca is as Venezuelan as the arepa. Although it has different variants, there will always be a typical Christmas dish, from the Andes with its raw stew, and chickpeas; the capital with pickles, the eastern sometimes with fish and variants. It is a stew (beef, chicken and pork) covered in cornmeal and wrapped in banana leaves in a rectangular shape, the main dish on the table of Venezuelans on Christmas Eve and New Year.

Ingredients

For the stew
	1 kg of Pork Shoulder cut into cubes
	2 kg de Beef cut into cubes
	2 kg of boiled Hen and shredded
	½ kg of cooked Bacon and chopped
	1 ½ kg of Onions cut into brunoise
	½ kg of Leek cut into julienne
	¼ kg of Chives cut into julienne
	¾ cup Garlic mignonette
	½ cup Capers
	1 kg of Red Bell Pepper cut into julienne
	¼ cup Sweet Pepper cut into julienne
	2 cups Red Wine cooking
	⅔ cup Corn Flour
	1 ½ cup Water
	Pepper
	Salt
For the dough
	2 ½ kg of Corn Flour
	4 cups Lard
	3 cups Chicken Broth
	2 cups Water
	Salt
	Annatto
For the assembly
	50 pieces of Plantain Leaves approximately 30×30 cm
	50 pieces of Plantain Leaves approximately 20×20 cm
	50 strips of Plantain Leaves approximately 15×20 cm
	2 cups Annatto Oil
	1 kg of Bell Pepper cut into julienne
	½ kg of cooked Bacon strips
	½ kg of boiled Chicken Breast and shredded
	½ kg of Onion rings
	200 gr of Capers
	400 gr of Stuffed Olives
	½ kg of Raisins
	Pickles in Vinegar and almonds (optional)

Utensils

Knife

Cutting board

Big cauldron

Container for dough

Big pot

Wooden spoon

Wick

Preparation

For the stew

1. Cook each meat (beef, chicken, pork) separately in boiling water without these completely soften and reserve the broth.

2. Place the oil in a large pot and heat.

3. Add the onion and garlic and cook until caramelized.

4. Add the leek and chives and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly with the help of a wooden paddle.

5. Pour pepper, sweet pepper and cook for a few minutes.

6. Incorporate the meat and other ingredients and let cook, stirring constantly for even cooking.

7. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the mix.

8. Proceed to incorporate the chicken broth or beef taken from the pre-cooking of the meats in small amounts or until needed to prevent dry stew.

9. Continue cooking for 40 minutes or until thick consistency.

10. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the dough

1. Pour the corn flour in a large bowl adding lard, a part (a cup) boiled with annatto and strain to discard parts of annatto.

2. Add the other half of the butter without coloring and knead until blended.

3. Add chicken broth gradually until a soft yellowish and smooth dough.

For the assembly

1. Place all ingredients in separate containers in a wide table.

2. Remove the thick vein of the leaves with scissors and wash with a damp towel and dry with a dry towel.

3. Take the large sheet of 30×30 oil and grease with annatto oil.

4. Take a piece of dough and make a ball the size of a fist with the palms.

5. Flatten the ball of dough with your hands to create a uniform circumference of about 25 cm in diameter.

6. Place a portion of stew in the center of mass and with him the ornaments evenly distributed, ie, (about 6 raisins, 5 olives, capers 5, 5 strips of bacon, etc).

7. It is necessary to fold the widest part of the sheet toward the center of the dish, creating a fold and repeat the process with all sides to completely seal stew.

8. The setting procedure is repeated with the remaining dough and stew.

9. For the cooking process, hallacas are introduced into a large pot of boiling water and cook for about an hour.

10. Remove and drain hallacas until warm to better appreciate its flavor.

11. Serve as a Christmas dish alone or accompanied by baked pork leg, chicken salad and ham bread.