National Dish Cape Verde: Cachupa (Recipe)
In this article
Cachupa cooks for hours and is better the next morning, fried in a pan with an egg on top. That second life has its own name, cachupa refogada, and plenty of Cape Verdeans prefer it to the original.
About Cachupa
Cachupa is the national dish of Cape Verde: hominy corn and beans stewed slowly with whatever meat is available. The islands are dry and volcanic, farming is hard, and the dish reflects that. Everything goes in one pot and cooks until it is soft.
There are two versions by name. Cachupa rica has pork, sausage and several vegetables. Cachupa pobre has corn, beans and not much else. Both are made.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 100 g corn
- 50 g dried beans
- 1 medium sweet potato, diced
- 1 small cassava root, peeled and diced
- 200 g pork, diced
- 100 g chorizo or other spicy sausage, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Water or stock, for cooking
Shopping for the ingredients
The corn should be hominy, dried maize treated with lime, sold in Portuguese and Latin American shops as milho or maíz cacahuazintle. Ordinary sweetcorn is not a substitute. Cassava is sold fresh or frozen in African, Caribbean and Asian grocers, and frozen is easier.
Preparing the dish
Soak the corn and the beans overnight in separate bowls. The corn takes longer to cook than anything else, which is why it goes in first and alone. Peel the cassava thoroughly, removing the pink layer under the bark, and cut out the woody core.
Step-by-step instructions
- Soak the corn and beans overnight in water.
- Drain off the soaking water, then tip the corn and beans into a large pot. Cover with fresh water or stock.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about an hour, until the beans begin to soften.
- Add the diced meat, the sausage, sweet potato, cassava, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
- Let the stew continue simmering over low heat until the meat and root vegetables are tender, around 1–2 hours. Top up with more water or stock as needed.
- Check the seasoning and adjust the spices to taste.
- Serve the Cachupa piping hot with sides of your choice.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Corn, beans and root vegetables are gluten-free, and there is no dairy. The sausage is the risk, since chorizo sometimes contains wheat as a binder. Read the label.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Cachupa pobre is close to vegan already. Leave out the meat entirely, add a bay leaf, a piece of smoked paprika and more vegetables, and you have a real Cape Verdean dish rather than an adaptation. Corn and beans together are a complete protein.
More tips and tricks
Give the corn its full hour before anything else goes in. It stays chalky if rushed and nothing later fixes it. Salt only when the beans are soft. And make double: the fried leftovers the next day are the point for most people.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Tuna instead of pork makes the coastal version. Cabbage, pumpkin and green banana all belong. A splash of grogue, the local cane spirit, at the end is a habit on some islands.
Ingredient substitutions
Tinned hominy cuts the cooking time substantially. Any dried bean works. Smoked bacon replaces chorizo well.
Drink pairing ideas
Grogue is the national spirit and appears before and after. A Portuguese red suits the meat version. Strong coffee follows the leftover breakfast version.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in deep bowls, hot, with bread. The next morning, fry the leftovers in a pan until the base crisps, slide a fried egg on top and serve it for breakfast. That is cachupa refogada and it is arguably the better meal.
A bit of history
Cape Verde was uninhabited before Portuguese settlement in the fifteenth century and became a hub of the Atlantic slave trade. Its cooking is Creole in the exact sense: Portuguese technique, African ingredients, island scarcity. Cachupa carries all three, and it defines Cape Verdean cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Cachupa
Cachupa is hominy corn and beans stewed for hours with pork, sausage and root vegetables. Cook the corn first and alone, salt late, and fry the leftovers with an egg the next morning.
