Cape Verdean cuisine


The cuisine of Cape Verde is a West African cuisine largely influenced by Portuguese, Southern and Western European and West African cuisine. Cape Verde was a colony of Portugal from its colonization until 1975.
Because the archipelago is inside the Atlantic Ocean, fish is very important in Cape Verdean cooking.

Overview

One of the most important aspects of Cape Verdean culture is the beverage grogue, a strong rum made from distilled sugar cane on the islands of Santo Antao and Santiago. The beverage is made in towns such as Paul on Santo Antao and Cidade Velha on Santiago using a trapiche. A variation of the drink is ponche which is sweetened with condensed milk or sugarcane molasses. Due to the intoxication on consuming grogue, it is consumed by many Cape Verdean musicians seeking inspiration.
Corn and beans are staples of Cape Verdean cuisine. Also popular are rice, fried potatoes, cassava and vegetables such as carrots, kale, squash, fish and meat such as tuna, sawfish, lobster, chicken and grilled pork, and eggs. One legacy of the Portuguese on the islands is olives and Alentejo wines which are still imported.
Cachupa, a stew, is considered the national dish of Cape Verde which includes mashed maize, onions, green bananas, manioc, sweet potatoes, squash and yams. Manioc balls are one of the most common in Cape Verde.
Seafood dishes include bafa and búzio cabra, made from bubonian conch.
In December 2002, the Cape Verdean government prohibited the killing of turtles by law, per their participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995 e a Convenção sobre Comercio Internacional de Espécies de Fauna e Flora Selvagem Ameaçadas de Extinção. The dish once popular on Santiago Island named turtle steak has slowly disappeared.
Strela is Cape Verde's most popular beer. Its production began in 2006; it superseded Portuguese beers including Super Bock and Sagres.

Meals

  • Manel Antone stew—beef stew
  • Antonense shrimp stew —found in Santo Antão
  • Antonense pork stew —found in Santo AntãoArroz de cabidela de marisco а dadal—the rice seafood dish of the island of São VicenteBafa—a snack made of seafood or meat, prepared quickly, as an entrée or as a main dish, usually accompanied by beer, wine, grogue, in a festive manner.
  • Bafa—a dish with squid, fries and rice
  • Bibi-style shrimp dish, a sea snailCachupa—corn/maize dish, the national dish of Cape Verde, varieties include cachupa frita, cachupa guisada or cachupa refogada, meaning "fried cachupa" and two styles, cachupa rica tends to have more ingredients than the simpler, cachupa pobre.Cabrito—young goatCaldo de peixe or "Calderado"—a fish dish with potato, pumpkin, carrots, vegetables, served with rice, tomato puree, corn pureeCarne guizada—beef stewChamuças—Capeverdean samosas dish, a dish originated from the Indian subcontinent
  • Couscous—one of the most popular in Cape Verde, the Capeverdean style features a sweet bean-flour and sugar mixture steamed into a cake or bun, commonly eaten with butter and/or drank with coffee during breakfast meals.Frango assado—grilled chicken
  • Fried moray eelFeijoada —hearty bean stew
  • Goat cheese with papaya jamFrango assado com tomates—a dish popular on the island of FogoErvilhas assadas—a dish popular on the island of FogoGrogue or Capeverdean grog—alcoholic beverage, popular on the islands of Santo Antão and SantiagoGuisado de percebes —dish of the island of São Vicente
  • Lobster stew—Lobster steamed and served with a sauce of choice.Lagosta suada—lobster cooked on red sauce.Lapas—mussels, stewed limpets and peppers.
  • Morreia eel—fried in oil, and often served as a bafaLegumes cozidos—cooked vegetablesModje de Sao Nicolau—beef stewPercebes—sea fingers or gooseneck barnacles, steamed in a large pot, eaten by cracking off the end and peeling the skin to reveal the meat, similar in texture to squid.Cracas—barnacle served still clinging to the rock with a slice of lemon and a long thin implement used for hooking out the meat from the shell.Polvo—octopus
  • Shrimp in garlic wine
  • Turtle steak (bife de tartaruga)—no longer available, once popular on the island of Santiago
  • Xerém—a corn dish served with soup.

Beverages

Desserts