Hallacas
Centrales - (
Steamed Banana Leaves with Chicken and Meat Filling )
Classic
Latin American Recipe
Makes:
about 25
Dough Ingredients:
3 cups Dried White Corn
6 cups Cold Water (or substitute three 1 pound- 13-ounce cans
of hominy)
l/2 cup Lard
1 tspn. Annatto (achiote) Seeds
1 tspn. Salt
Filling
Ingredients:
1 1/2 — 2/lb. Chicken (cut into quarters)
2 cups Cold Water
l/2 cup Olive Oil
1 lb. Boneless Loin of Pork (cut into 1/3-inch cubes)
1 lb. Beef Chuck (cut into l/3 inch cubes)
1 l/4 cups Green Peppers (finely chopped)
1 1/4 cups Onions (finely chopped)
1 tbls. Garlic (finely chopped)
4 Medium Tomatoes (peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or substitute
1 1/3 cups chopped, drained, canned Italian plum tomatoes)
6 tbls. Capers (drained and rinsed in cold water)
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tbls. Ground Cumin Seeds
1 tbls. Salt
1 l/2 tspn. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Fresh Parsley (finely chopped)
1/4 lb. Fresh Pork Fat (cut into l/4-inch dice)
3/4 cup Seedless Raisins
25 Pimiento-Stuffed Olives
3 Whole Banana Leaves
25 ten-inch Squares of White Parchment Paper (or substitute 50
ten-inch squares of white parchment paper)
Procedures
for Dough:
If you are using dried corn, combine it with the water in a 4-quart
saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to
moderate and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes.
Drain off any excess water. Put the corn through the finest blade
of a meat grinder and then put it through a food mill or a coarse
sieve. If you are using hominy, drain it well and put it through
a food mill. Melt 1/4 cup of lard over moderate heat in a small
skillet, add the annatto seeds and cook for 3 minutes. Strain
the lard through a sieve and discard the seeds. With a spoon or
your fingers, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of lard with the corn.
Add the strained lard and 1 teaspoon salt, and knead the dough
for 10 minutes, or until it is very smooth.
Procedure
for Filling:
1. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the chicken
and 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce
the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the chicken
is tender but not falling apart. Transfer the chicken to a plate
and set the stock aside for another use. Remove the skin from
the chicken with a small knife or your fingers. Cut or pull the
meat away from the bones. Discard bones, and cut the meat into
strips l/8 inch wide and 1 to 1 l/2 inches long.
2.
In a heavy 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over high heat until
a light ha/c forms above it. Add the pork and beef cubes, and
cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is lightly browned on
all sides. Transfer the meat to a plate. Reduce the heat to moderate,
and add the green peppers, onions and garlic to the oil remaining
in the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until
the vegetables are soft but not brown. Add the tomatoes and cook
for 15 minutes until the tomato juices evaporate and the sauce
becomes a thick puree. Return the meat to the pan, add the capers,
sugar, cumin, 1 tablespoon salt and black pepper, and reduce the
heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30
minutes. Stir in the chicken strips and parsley, and set the pan
aside off the heat.
3.
In a small skillet, cook the pork fat over moderate heat, stirring
frequently, until it has rendered most of its fat. Do not let
the pork brown. Using a fine sieve, drain the bits of pork fat
and set them aside.
To
Assemble:
Shape 3 tablespoons of the dough into a ball and place it in the
center of a banana-leaf square or piece of parchment paper. With
the fingers press the dough into a rectangle about 6 inches wide
and 7 inches long diagonally on the leaf as shown in the pictures
opposite. Place 3 tablespoons of meat filling on the center of
the dough and dot it with 2 or 3 pieces of pork fat, 4 or 5 raisins
and 1 olive Construct the hallaca. Both the banana-leaf and paper-covered
hallaca can be wrapped for the second time in paper.
To
Cook:
When all the hallaca are filled, wrapped and tied, place them
seam side down in several layers in a large colander. Place the
colander in a deep pot and pour enough water into the pot to come
to just below the bottom of the colander. Bring the water to a
boil over high heat, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low.
Steam the hallacas for I hour, keeping the water at a slow boil
and replenishing it with additional boiling water as it cooks
away. With kitchen tongs, transfer the hallacas to a heated platter.
They may be served at once or refrigerated overnight with no loss
of flavor. Reheat by steaming them again for 30 minutes.
To
Prepare Banana Leaves:
If you are using banana leaves, cut away and discard the center
ribs of the leaves with scissors, and carefully tear the leaves
into 10-inch squares, following the veins of the leaf. (The leaf
shreds easily if pulled against the vein.) Wash the squares in
cold water, rubbing them with a cloth or sponge in the direction
of the vein pattern. Dry the pieces gently with paper towels.
Other
Related Links:
Classic
Latin American Recipes