Recently I had made vegan tamales Mexican style after which, it was brought to my attention by our dear @sirenahippie that there are many similar and comparable foods, throughout Latin America.

I will refer in particular to the traditional Venezuelan "Hallaca". This is also a corn dough stuffed and wrapped in banana leaves. Although comparable to the tamale, this particular item is quite distinct and requires quite a process.

I know I have seen such recipes from Hivers and online, but seemed much too complicated and often contained meat which I have not consumed for quite a while.

Fortunately for me some Hive Chefs have recently shared vegan versions of "hallacas".

@denissemata with her post @yraimadiaz and her post @Daifernandez0929 and her post @jetta.amaya in her post (Sorry if I missed any other vegan hallaca posts)

All of these recipes will guide me and inspire me to make my own version based on their expert instructions.

Usually when I research traditional recipes, I first go to the ones that are not plant based. I find that veganized versions of traditional foods, often omit key ingredients, other then meat.

In the case of the Hive chefs mentioned, they seem to have good versions varying a bit but giving a great representation of the recipes with meat, which I have looked at online.

I am now going to go on a culinary adventure, to attempt the "Hallacas". I'll be choosing ingredients based on what I have gathered from our wonderful Hive chefs and online, mixing, adding and omitting according to what I have and what I like.

For me, the ingredients that really appeal to me is the combination of olives, raisins, and nuts.

I gathered items that I had, and purchased just a few others. This is my recipe, developed by experimenting and not really knowing what I was doing. Please refer first, to the recipes provided above. These folks are experts.

Filling items

1 leek, 1 potato,1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 3 habanero chilies, 2 roma tomatoes, 1 carrot,1 green onion ,handful cilantro, annato oil for frying (which I forgot and used regular oil instead), 2 cups vegetable broth, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 4 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce.

1 cup raisins, 1 cup peanuts, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup capers, 1 cup olives, roasted red peppers from a jar.

1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon paprika. I added salt to may taste.

Somewhere in my research it was said that you should salt a touch beyond your taste comfort. I did this and it was perfect for me. The olives and tamari are adding to the salt as well.

For the meat substitute I used 150 grams king oyster mushrooms (raw weight), and 250 grams a soy chicken substitute. The mushrooms were shredded and the soy "chicken" was thinly sliced.

This soy chicken is a brand by a company called Paradise Vegan, which specialize in vegan meat substitutes. They do a great job nailing the taste but I know it's not the healthiest product to eat so for me it's for special occasions. I only used half the bag.

The annato infused oil 1 cup oil 1 tablespoon annato seed

I must explain what I did. You see I saw that more seeds were used in most recipes but I got scared. I know that achiote paste is strong and overpowering in my opinion. I guess it's not something I'm used to. I wanted to colour the oil like others do, but because I was afraid the flavour would be too bold I cut back on the seeds not following the guide of the other recipes.

I was wrong. After heating up oil, to a warm temperature, not to let it bubble as directed, I left it in for at least 10 minutes. It wasn't the colour that it should be and it had a mild taste. OOps!!!

Now for the cooking of the stew. I started by cooking the leeks and onions, then garlic, and habanero peppers, then added the potato and carrot. At this point I would have added wine which is done in some recipes. I didn't have any so I added some balsamic vinegar instead. I wasn't sure if I should add the raisins, olives, capers and nuts. I wanted to use it as a garnish before wrapping.

I decided to put half in the stew to add to the flavor, then stirred in the mushrooms and the soy chicken and broth.

I let this cook and simmer for quite a while, stirring occasionally and letting the broth evaporate.

For the dough I used precooked corn flour. This seems to be the brand most are using. "P.A.N." I happened to have some in my cupboard waiting to be used.

Masa dough 3 cups cornflour 1 litre vegetable broth plus a little extra 3/4 cup annato oil Salt to taste

I really felt strange putting so much oil in this dough. I had to keep in mind that the traditional Hallacas would be made with pork lard and the meat stew would contain much more fat. I imagine that this would add to the appeal of this dish. I added a vegetable broth that I had made earlier while gathering the items and prepping.

Vegetable broth 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 onion, 1 large handful of parsley, 1 bulb of garlic, 3 bay leaves, 6 peppercorns, oil to saute, salt to taste, and water to cover. I don't really stick to a rigid amount when it comes to soup stalk. I just throw in what I have of these main items and rough chop. After browning the items well in hot oil, I cover with water and cook for at least 45 minutes. After I strain and re season.

I mixed the dough until it was smooth and soft. I wasn't sure if I should add more liquid, so I quit at a little over a litre when it felt suitable. If I had an expert beside me they could have told me if it was good. I felt that it was right.

I had 1 package of banana leaves that I had purchased from the Latino grocer a few blocks away from me. I had almost enough for the whole mix. There was mix left over after I managed to roll 12 packages.

I added a golf ball size ball of dough to a lightly greased square of leaf, then pressed down with a parchment paper, then a plate to flatten.

When the dough was flattened I added two large tablespoons of mixture in the middle. I garnished each one with a sprinkle of nuts, raisins, olives,capers and slices of roasted red peppers. I know some people use fresh peppers but I prefer roasted.

After I carefully pulled up the sides pressing the dough together as instructed, then fold.

I repeated with another square then secured with a wide strip in the middle.

When they were all ready for string, I realized,

I forgot to buy string!

The store was already closed so I had to think fast. Yes I happened to have some Jute twine which probably would never be considered to be used for such a thing. But that's what I had so I used it.

The most frustrating part began as I wrestled with trying to tie these things. I watch a video stopping and starting, but still couldn't master the tying.

I felt such frustration from my inability to tie these packages. It made me recall how I felt in grade 2 when the teacher asked me a question. I told her I didn't know the answer. The class was silent as she asked me why I didn't know. I wanted to curl up and hide forever. I didn't know what to say so I blurted out, "because I'm stupid". After this the teacher was in shock and regretted that she asked me that question. I suddenly felt a little bit of a redemption from her discomfort.

I just accepted this bad stringing job, with inappropriate string, and assured myself that in the future of my hallaca making, I will figure it out. It makes sense in my head but I have to teach my hands to follow.

I added the packages to a large pot of water then after bringing to a boil. I turned it down and simmered for a good 40 minutes until they seemed plump and obviously ready to unveil.

At this point, we were anxious to reveal and taste the experiment.

After tasting these, I couldn't help but wonder where they had been all my life.

The hot hallacas provided the tastes that I love all in one bite. Salty, sweet, savoury and spicy.

Marc showed his approval by eating far too many of them.

I thought tamales were good but now I realize there is a new kid in town. I still like tamales though. What I also loved about them, is that they don't require any sauce or additional condiments on top. All of the flavour is incorporated within.

I was sure there would be several leftovers for days but we had just enough to have for breakfast the next day.

I hope you could bare with me while I attempted this dish. Anyway I'm thankful it was brought to my attention or I could have missed out on a delicious new food experience.

Hope everyone enjoyed their New Year's weekend and a good year to come. Thanks for dropping by!

Photos taken with a Nikon D 7500

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