This is yet another Venezuelan recipe with my mother’s take on the traditional dish of Bollos Pelones. I love comfort food and plan to prepare a book with comfort food recipes from around the world. I’ve been planning this for years and talking to friends from different backgrounds on what is their comfort food and sometimes extracting recipes from them as well. Bollos pelones are a delicious corn dough ball stuffed with ground meat topped with tomato sauce. It is simple yet beautiful and of course delicious. Bollos Pelones have three main components:
The Guiso (Filling): The star of bollos pelones is undoubtedly the guiso, a flavorful meat filling packed with flavor:
- A colorful mix of vegetables: red bell pepper, sweet peppers (Aji Dulce), spring onions, onion, and garlic create a flavorful base.
- A blend of spices and seasonings: adobo, ground cumin, and garlic powder add flavor and aroma.
- Additional flavor: capers, green olives, and raisins add briny and sweet flavors.
- A touch of liquid: wine, passata, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce add some liquid and balance to the preparation.
- Fresh finish: cilantro adds a bright, herbal note.
The Corn Dough Wrapper: The outer layer is made from pre-cooked corn flour (harina de maíz precocida), a staple in Venezuelan cooking, this is a simple preparation with a touch of melted butter. Some recipes add onoto (annatto) for additional flavor and color, but my family has preferred to leave the dough as simple as possible.
The Sauce: No bollos pelones are complete without sauce. In this case it is a tomato based, enriched with vegetables and red wine, simple yet delicious to complement the corn dough and meat filling perfectly.
Cooking Process:
- Prepare the guiso and let it cool.
- Make corn dough balls, shape them into cups, fill with the guiso, and seal.
- Cook the bollos in boiling water until they float.
- Serve with the warm sauce and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Why You’ll Love This Dish: Bollos pelones are yet another perfect example of Venezuelan comfort food. The combination of textures – the soft corn dough exterior and the rich, meaty interior – along with the complex flavors make this dish a true winner. It’s a great way to experience Venezuelan cuisine right in your own kitchen!
Tips:
- For an extra kick, serve with your favorite hot sauce.
- Make sure to let the guiso cool before filling the dough to make handling easier.
- This recipe yields about 18 bollos, perfect for a family dinner or a small gathering.
I hope this recipe inspires you to try your hand at bollos pelones. It’s a labor of love, but the result is well worth the effort. ¡Buen provecho!
Venezuelan Bollos Pelones
9
servings40
minutes50
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Filling
2 tbsp 2 Olive oil
1/2 1/2 Red Bell pepper
4 4 Sweet Peppers (Aji Dulce)
3 3 Green onions
3/4 3/4 Onion
4 4 Garlic cloves
1 tbsp 1 Adobo seasoning
2.2 lbs 2.2 Lean ground beef
1/2 tbsp 1/2 Ground cumin
1/2 tbsp 1/2 Garlic powder
10 10 Capers (chopped)
10 10 Green olives finely chopped
10 10 Raisins (chopped)
1/4 cup 1/4 Wine
1/2 cup 1/2 Passata (tomato puree)
1 1/2 tbsp 1 1/2 Ketchup
1/2 tbsp 1/2 Worcestershire sauce
10 10 Cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt / Pepper
- Dough
10 cups 10 Water (Approx)
1 kilo 1 Precooked corn flour (Use PAN or Goya)
2 tbsp 2 Melted butter
Salt to taste (optional)
- Sauce
2 tbsp 2 Olive oil
2 tbsp 2 Butter
2 2 Tomatoes
1/2 medium 1/2 Onion
3 3 Garlic cloves
1/2 large 1/2 Bell pepper
1 jar 1 Passata
1/2 cup 1/2 Beef broth
1/2 cup 1/2 Red wine
Salt / pepper
Directions
- Filling
- Chop all ingredients very small in brunoise (fine dice)
- Heat the olive oil
- Add the onion and garlic, then add the bell pepper and sweet peppers, and sauté everything for a few minutes
- Add the lean ground beef, cumin, garlic powder, adobo. Cook well until all the beef is brown.
- Add the wine, passata, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, capers, raisins, olives, stir well and let it dry a bit. Once it is ready, you can add the chopped cilantro.
- Let the filling cool down.
- Sauce
- Heat the olive oil and butter mix in a pot over medium heat.
- Finely chop (brunoise) the tomatoes, garlic, onion and bell pepper and add to the pot, stir well and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes removing constantly to avoid the ingredients to burn
- Add the passata, beef broth and wine, and bring to a quick boil and lower heat to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the sauce is not too liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste, and let it rest while you prepare the dough and bollos.
- Dough
- Pour the water in a large bowl, add the corn flour and the melted butter, start mixing until you have a soft yet firm dough that you can make a dough ball with.
- Take approximately 3.5 oz of dough and roll them into a ball, then open giving it the form of a cup.
- Add enough filling to the dough and close it so that it resembles a ball.
- Cook in boiling water with salt or broth until they float (approximately 5 minutes).
- Place dough balls (bollos) in a plate, cover with the sauce and garnish with cilantro. Add hot sauce if desired.
Notes
- If you want a bit of kick you can add hot red chiles, to the sauce, the filling, or both. You’ll love it!
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