Guatemalan recipe
How to make Hilachas
The whole country
Boiled beef pulled into shreds and simmered in a sauce of tomatoes, tomatillos and mild dried chillies, with potatoes and carrots. It is eaten with rice, black beans and tortillas.
Ingredients
- 800 g beef flank or skirt steak
- 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves
- 4 tomatoes and 3 tomatillos
- 2 dried guajillo chillies, seeds removed
- 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces
- 2 potatoes and 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- Salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil
Method
- Simmer the beef with half the onion, one garlic clove and some salt in water to cover for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until very tender. Keep the broth.
- Lift out the meat, let it cool a little and pull it into thin shreds with two forks.
- Boil the tomatoes, tomatillos and chillies for 10 minutes, then blend them with the rest of the onion and garlic, the tortilla and 250 ml of broth until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a wide pan, pour in the sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots and a little more broth, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded beef, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 10 more minutes until the sauce is thick. Serve with rice and tortillas.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Hilachas means 'rags' or 'threads', after the shredded meat.
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