National Dishes of the World

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Cachupa
Photo: Xandu, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

main dish

Cachupa

A slow-cooked stew of hominy maize, beans, vegetables and meat or fish – the national dish of Cape Verde.

Eaten in: Cape Verde

Prep
30 min
Cooking
3 h
Resting
12 h
Total
15 h 30 min
Servings
8

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About the dish

Cachupa is the national dish of Cape Verde. Dried hulled maize and several kinds of beans are simmered slowly for hours, then cassava, sweet potato, pumpkin, cabbage and meat – chouriço sausage, pork, beef or chicken – or fish, usually tuna, are added. The humble version, cachupa pobre, has fewer additions, while the festive cachupa rica has several meats. The leftovers are fried in a pan the next day and served for breakfast with a fried egg and sausage as cachupa refogada.

Main ingredients

  • hominy maize
  • beans
  • cassava
  • sweet potatoes
  • cabbage
  • pumpkin
  • chouriço sausage
  • pork

Cape Verde: The rich version with several meats is cachupa rica; the humbler one is cachupa pobre.

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Cachupa

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/cachupa

Ingredients

8 servings

8 servings

Method

  1. Soak the maize and beans separately overnight in cold water, then drain.

  2. Cover the maize with 3 l water and simmer covered for 1 hour, then add the beans and cook for another hour until both are tender.

  3. Meanwhile fry the chopped onions and garlic in the oil, add the cubed pork and brown it on all sides.

  4. Transfer the meat and onions to the maize pot, add the bay leaves, season with salt and simmer for 30 minutes.

  5. Add the cassava, sweet potatoes and pumpkin in large pieces, the cabbage in quarters and the sliced chouriço and cook for another 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the stew has thickened.

  6. Season with salt and pepper and serve in deep plates; fry up the leftovers the next day with a fried egg.