How to Make Hallacas - Venezuelan Christmas Food

The most important dish at Christmas in Venezuela is without doubt the hallaca, a cornmeal-dough pocket stuffed with a host of tasty ingredients, wrapped in a plantain leaf, and boiled.

Culinary legend has it that the hallaca originated from the tradition of the plantation owners giving the leftover scraps from their Christmas banquets to the slaves, who would use them to spice up the boiled cornmeal dough (known as bollos) that constituted their daily diet.

That's why, the theory goes, hallacas are stuffed with such an odd range of things, from chicken, beef and pork stew to olives, raisins, capers and even boiled eggs, depending on the family recipe.

Making hallacas is an elaborate process with many stages, and in Venezuela usually involves the whole family.

Luckily, Adriana Lopez, co-owner of Pica Pica restaurant in San Francisco, has made a very comprehensive set of videos showing how to make your own hallacas at home.

For more great recipes check out Adriana Lopez' blog: AdrianaLopezBlog.com

Venezuelan Food in San Francisco - Pica Pica Maize Kitchen

If you're in San Francisco and you feel like savouring the authentic flavours of Venezuela, check out the Pica Pica Maize Kitchen run by Adriana Lopez and her father Leopoldo Lopez Gil.

The menu focuses on tasty Venezuelan street food, such as empanadas, cachapas and the the maize buns known as arepas, which are stuffed with a variety of fillings, from traditional shredded beef and plantains to devilled ham (Diablitos).

They even have some more exotic fusion food, like the tofu-filled arepa they call the Vegetariana.

Pica Pica currently have two outlets, one at 401 Valencia Street, San Francisco, and another at Oxbow market in Napa.

For full details see the Pica Pica website.