Creole Funche Recipe

This funche criollo recipe is a kind of polenta that has become popular in Venezuela over the years and has become a traditional Christmas dish in many homes because it has a very pleasant flavor.

The funche is basically a baked cake made with corn flour (the same one used to make arepas) and, in general, it is filled with chicken or pork stew, there are even those who make them with both meats. The stew is very similar to the Venezuelan hallaca stew. The preparation is not as complex as the halluces but it has the same characteristic flavor in the filling, so if you have a craving and want to know how to make funche criollo, at

Ingredients to make Creole Funche:

• Filling:
• 300 grams of pork
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tomato
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 sprigs of parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers (optional)
• 150 grams of pitted olives (optional)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs (optional)
• funche:
• 1 liter of milk
• 1 liter of water or chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 4 egg
• 1 kilogram of corn flour

How to make Creole Funche:

1. Wash and chop the onion, paprika, tomatoes, and parsley and garlic cloves.
2. Throw it all in the glass of the blender or processor with a jet of water.
3. Blend until you have a fairly liquid paste.
4. In a skillet add the pasta and bring it to medium-low heat. Cut the pork into medium cubes.
5. Add the pork to the pan and add the cumin, paprika, pepper and salt.
6. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes or until the pork is done.
7. Finally add the capers and olives if you used them in the recipe.
8.  Stir and cook covered for 5 more minutes.
9. To make the corn funche, add the milk and water in the blender, add the eggs and brown sugar, mix very well and, little by little, add the corn flour.
10. Rest this mixture in the blender for 2 minutes, it should thicken, if it does not thicken add a few more tablespoons of corn flour and mix well.
11. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
12. Grease the funche molds with oil or butter.
13. Pour the first layer of Christmas funche in the molds, it should be 1 or 2 centimeters thick.
14. Add all the filling to the molds with the funche. If you added hard-boiled eggs, it’s time to put them on top of the stew.
15. Cover the stew with the rest of the funche. You can add Parmesan cheese on top.
16. Bake the funche criollo for 30 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Let it rest for 10 minutes when you take it out of the oven so you can handle it and cut it.
17. It’s ready to eat! You can accompany this rich funche criollo with a delicious paper with lemon or any refreshing drink.