The Venezuelan Bollito - A Boiled Cornflour Snack

For a typical Venezuelan breakfast, when you are short of time, try boiling your cornflour dough instead of making arepas. The resulting submarine-shaped "bollos" are ready in just 15 minutes. (photo copyright Russell Maddicks)

That white submarine at the back of the plate is a bollo (pronounced: bo-jyo), also known as a bollito (pronounced: bo-jyito).
They are made from the same dough used to make arepas, from pre-cooked corn flour.
Like many Venezuelans I use Harina Pan to make my arepas and bollos.
All you need to do is add water and knead the dough until you can shape it easily and it isn't too dry to form cracks.
Instead of forming the dough into flying saucer shapes and frying or baking your arepas, bollos are roughly shaped into submarines and boiled in water for about 15 minutes. You know they are ready when they float to the surface.
It's a really quick way to get your daily cornbread fix.
For breakfast I like to serve bollitos with perico (eggs scrambled with onions and tomatoes) and grated yellow cheese.
In some places in Venezuela, you find bollo pelon, which are bollos stuffed with minced beef or shredded chicken cooked in a sauce.
In Colombia, the bollo limpio is slightly different as the corn dough submarines are wrapped in a corn husk before being boiled.
In Venezuela this kind of bollo is called an hallaquita.
Just to confuse matters further, in Ecuador and some other Andean countries, there is a very similar corn dish called humita. These are typically made from fresh ground corn which is wrapped in corn husks and steamed, often with cheese mixed into the dough.
The ultimate bollo is the hallaca, a cornmeal-dough pocket stuffed with a host of tasty ingredients, wrapped in a plantain leaf, which is eaten at Christmas.

Related recipes:
How to Make Arepas
How to Make Perico
How to Make Hallacas 

#Venezuelan #food #bollos #hallaquitas #arepas

Venezuelan Christmas Bazaar, Westminster Hall, 7 Dec

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the usual Venezuelan festive foods so the Venezuelan community in London has organized a Christmas Bazaar at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday, 7 December. There will be stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum cocktails, traditional music, and a raffle.

Festive favourites on sale include:

Hallacas - A stew of chicken, beef, olives and capers that is stuffed into a maize dough pocket, wrapped in a banana leaf, tied with string and boiled.

Pan de Jamon - A soft bread with ham and raisins inside.

Ensalada de Gallina - A chicken and potato salad.

Pernil - Roast pork.

Ponche Crema - A creamy Christmas tipple made with condensed milk and rum.

Quesillo - Creme caramel, sometimes known as flan.

There will also be face painting and a bouncy castle for the kids to enjoy while you pick up all your Christmas-dinner essentials.

How to get there: Westminster Cathedral Hall is part of the famous Westminster Cathedral (SW1P 1QH). The entrance to the hall is in Ambrosden Avenue, which is reached from Victoria Street or Francis Street.

Ordering Venezuelan Xmas Food in London

Anybody living in London or the surrounding area who is looking to find Venezuelan Christmas dishes made to order should contact Luisa Chavez.

A Venezuelan woman with a talent for making exceptional cakes, Luisa has been providing homesick Venezuelans with all the food they need for a festive Christmas for many years now.

Her specialities include:

Hallacas - Essential to Christmas and New Year festivities, hallacas are a Venezuelan form of the tamale, a stew of pork, beef, chicken, raisins, capers, and other ingredients that is stuffed into a maize dough pocket, wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled. Hallacas are delicious and although essentially a Chritmas dish are eaten in Venezuela from November through January.

Pan de Jamon - Another unmissable dish on the Christmas table, pan de jamon is a soft bread rolled up with ham and raisins inside. Luisa goes the extra mile with her pan de jamon and even personalizes it with your name if you ask her nicely,

Ponche Crema - A form of creamy eggnog made with condensed milk and Venezuelan rum, ponche crema is a great Christmas spirit way to get in the festive mood.

To pre-order ponche crema, hallacas, pan de jamon and tortas call Luisa Chavez on 07985239852, or 01784 241565.

Venezuelan Gastronomic Fair - London, 9 March

Venezuelan food lovers should make some room for a big blowout and head down to the Irish Centre in Hammersmith on Saturday, 9 March, because the organizers of the annual Christmas Bazaar have decided to hold another massive food fair.

From noon to 6pm a variety of stalls will be selling a range of Venezuelan traditional food, from snacks like arepas and empanadas to full-on feasts of pabellon criollo, pernil (pork), asado negro (beef cooked with cane sugar until black), served with rice, fried plantains and caraotas negras (black beans).

There will be food, music and raffles for all the family, a bouncy castle and face painting for the kids, and Venezuelan-style cocktails like guarapita (passionfruit and rum) for the adults.

Stallholder Luisa Chavez, a Venezuelan who lives in London and is rightly famous for her quesillo (creme caramel) and torta de tres leches (ridiculously delicious cake), will also be bringing homemade Venezuelan queso duro blanco (hard, white cheese) to the event.

Other stallholders include Mi Cocina es Tuya and the folks from Arepa & Co, who Venezuelan food-addicts will already know from their very successful weekend stall at Camden Lock Market.

The Irish Centre is in Blacks Road, Hammersmith (W6 9TD), close to two Tube stations - the Hammersmith and City Line station and the Picadilly and Central Line station.

Venezuelan Xmas Food Bazaar - London - 9 December

For Venezuelans living in the UK, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the traditional festive foods so it's good news to hear that on Sunday, 9 December, there will be a Venezuelan Christmas Bazaar at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith (W6 9DT) from 12-6 pm.

There will be stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a Venezuelan-style Feliz Navidad, as well as rum, tropical tunes, and a raffle.

Entrance is free and all lovers of South American food are cordially invited to attend.

Festive favourites on sale include hallacas (a stew of chicken, beef and capers in a maize dough pocket that is wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled), pan de jamon (soft bread with ham and raisins inside), ensalada de gallina (chicken and potato salad), pernil (roast ham), and some homemade versions of the traditional tipple ponche crema.

There will also be stalls selling popular Venezuelan snacks, such as arepas, empanadas, and cachapas, and all sorts of sweet treats like quesillo and cakes.

This popular annual event has traditionally been held at Bolivar Hall - the Cultural Centre of the Venezuelan Embassy - but it wasn't possible to hold it there this year due to a scheduling clash, so it was decided to make the move to the Irish Centre in Hammersmith, a good-sized venue with excellent access via the Hammersmith and City, Picadilly and District lines and several bus routes.

Luisa Chavez, who runs a stall called Tu-UK-Navidena, told me that she is hard at work making hallacas and cakes for the event and suggests anybody who cannot make it on the day or who wants to pre-order their ponche crema, hallacas, pan de jamon and tortas can call her on 07985239852, or 01784 241565.

Other stalls include Arepa & Co, who have been selling arepas and cachapas in Camden Lock Market for several years now, and Mi Cocina es Tuya, who have a cafe-style restaurant in Crystal palace selling all manner of Venezuelan food.

Luisa Chavez and her highly-praised pan de jamon and hallacas.

   

Venezuelan Xmas food at UK bazaar - 11 December

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the usual Venezuelan festive foods so the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in London has organized a Christmas Bazaar at Bolivar Hall on Sunday 11 December with stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum, music, and a raffle.

Festive favourites on sale include hallacas (a stew of chicken, beef and capers wrapped in maize dough and a banana leaf and then boiled), pan de jamon (a soft bread with ham and raisins inside), ensalada de gallina (a chicken and potato salad), pernil (roast ham), and some homemade versions of the traditional tipple ponche crema.

The folks from Arepa & Co will also be there, serving the full range of arepa fillings and the pan de jamon they sell on their weekend Camden Market stall.

Given the popularity of the event and the difficulty of obtaining Venezuelan seasonal dishes elsewhere, the following stallholders are taking orders ahead of the bazaar, so nobody goes away disappointed:

Mi Cocina es Tuya
After many years in the business of cooking Venezuelan food Alexis and Mary Calvo know how to adapt the ingredients they find in the UK to make their dishes taste authentic. They also run the only Venezuelan cafe in London, Cafe Latino, at 61 Westow Street in Crystal Palace (SE19 3RW). Alexis says they will have traditional hallacas, ensalada de gallina, pernil, pan de jamon, quesillo (creme caramel), dulce de tres leches (a sticky, sweet cake) and papelon con limon (a refreshing blend of lemon juice and cane sugar). They'll also be selling a seafood cocktail that is widely believed to have "rejuvenating" properties. Popular at Venezuelan seaside spots, it is variously known as "Vuelve a La Vida" (Back to Life), "Siete Potencias" (Seven Powers) or "Rompe Colchon" (Mattress Buster). Try some and let me know if it works.
Phone: 0208-771-4078
Mobile: 0750-862-6486
Email: micocinaestuya@hotmail.com
webpage:Mi Cocina es Tuya


Tu UK Navidena
Roberto Jardin and Luisa Chavez might look like cowboys in the photo, but there was nothing dodgy about their pan de jamon last year which, was one of the best I've had in the UK. 
Currently struggling to fill over 200 pre-orders for hallacas, Roberto says this year will be the biggest yet for the bazaar and they promise to have an even wider selection of savoury dishes and desserts.
Phone: 0178-424-1565
Mobile: 0798-523-9852, 0795-610-1227 
Email: robertojardin@hotmail.com






Lulu's Flavours
Libia Marulanda has been cooking for the ambassadors of Venezuela for 15 years and makes an excellent ensalada de gallina. 
Apart from the hallacas and hallaquitas on her stall, she does a roaring trade in homemade tequenos, the Venezuelan party snack of choice. 
She'll also have meat and chicken empanadas and dulce de leche.
Mobile: 0794-487-1422
Email: libiamarulanda@yahoo.co.uk






Venue: Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL
Date: Sunday, 11 December, 2011
Time: 12.00-21.00
Nearest Tube: Warren Street
Click here for a map showing the location

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

The history of the Venezuela arepa (documentary in Spanish)

This excellent documentary by the Universidad Monteávila in Caracas charts the history of the humble Venezuelan arepa - a local maize-flour alternative to the bread roll - from its indigenous origins to today.

Experts in Venezuela's food history and gastronomic traditions discuss the boom in arepa bars, called areperas, that occurred in the 1950s with the arrival of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese immigrants fleeing the post-war poverty of Europe for a new life in the sun.

The first filled arepas were called tostadas and a host of breakfast and lunch bars specializing in quick snacks for workers and schoolkids sprung up around the country to sell them.

But the arepa boom really took off with the arrival of pre-cooked maize flour in the 1960s, such as the ever popular Harina P.A.N., which drastically cut the preparation time for arepa dough and turned areperas into the ultimate fast-food outlets.

The queen of arepa fillings must be the Reina Pepiada, a gooey concoction of shredded chicken, avocado and mayonnaise. The documentary tells the story of how this emblematic dish came to be named after Venezuela's first international beauty queen, the exquisite Susana Dujim who in 1955 was crowned Miss World in London.

Here's a menu of arepa fillings - with translations - for anybody wanting to try one of these delicious Venezuelan snacks.

Related posts:
Recipe: How to Make Arepas

Buying Harina Pan in the UK

Arepa and Co: The only Venezuelan food outlet in London

Arepa de Maiz Pelao: Making Arepas the Hard Way

Recipe: Caraotas Negras - Venezuelan Black Beans

Recipe: Carne Mechada - Venezuelan Shredded Beef

Pabellon Criollo - Venezuela's National Dish

A Glossary of Arepas

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.