The cuisine of Cape Verde is a

West African cuisine West African cuisine encompasses a diverse range of foods that are split between its 16 countries. In West Africa, many families grow and raise their own food, and within each there is a division of labor. Indigenous foods consist of a number of ...

largely influenced by

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, Southern and Western European and

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, ...

cuisine. Cape Verde was a colony of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

from its colonization until 1975. Because the archipelago is inside the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, fish is very important in Cape Verdean cooking.

Overview

One of the most important aspects of Cape Verdean culture is the beverage ''

grogue Grogue, also known as grogu or grogo (derived from English ''grog''), is a Cape Verdean alcoholic beverage, an aguardente made from sugarcane. Its production is fundamentally artisanal, and nearly all the sugarcane is used in the production of ...

'', a strong rum made from distilled sugar cane on the islands of Santo Antao and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. The beverage is made in towns such as

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

on Santo Antao and

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a city 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, grilled pork and eggs. One legacy of the Portuguese on the islands is olives and

Alentejo wine Alentejo (''Vinho do Alentejo'', Alentejo wines) is a Portuguese wine region in the Alentejo region. The entire region is entitled to use the '' Vinho Regional'' designation Alentejano VR, while some areas are also classified at the higher '' Denom ...

s 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 ('' Persististrombus latus''). 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 (CITES). The dish once popular on Santiago Island named '' turtle steak'' has slowly disappeared. Strela is Cape Verde's most popular beer who started production in 2006, it superseded Portuguese beers including Super Bock and Sagres (in 2009).

Meals

* Manel Antone stew—beef stew * Antonense shrimp stew (''conserva de camarão'')—found in Santo Antão * Antonense pork stew (''conserva de carne de porco'')—found in Santo Antão * ''Arroz de cabidela de marisco а dadal''—the rice seafood dish of the island of São Vicente * ''Bafa''—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 (''caldo de camarão а moda da mama Bibi''—seafood dish mainly originated in Chã das Pedras southwest of Ribeira Grande on the island of Santo Antão * ''Búzio cabra''—seafood made out of the Bubonian conch ('' Persististrombus latus''), a sea snail * '' Cachupa''—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 goat * ''Caldo de peixe'' or "Calderado"—a fish dish (usually ''cavala'', mackerel) with potato, pumpkin, carrots, vegetables, served with rice, tomato puree, corn puree * ''Carne guizada''—beef stew * '' Chamuças''—Capeverdean ''

samosas A samosa () or singara is a fried India, Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, Onion, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on th ...

'' dish, a dish originated from the Indian subcontinent *

Couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

—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 eel * ''

Feijoada ''Feijoada'' () is a stew of beans with beef and pork. The name ''feijoada'' comes from ''feijão'', 'bean' in Portuguese. It is widely prepared in the Portuguese-speaking world, with slight variations. The basic ingredients of feijoada are bean ...

'' (a la Cape Verde)—hearty bean stew * Goat cheese with papaya jam * ''Frango assado com tomates''—a dish popular on the island of Fogo * ''Ervilhas assadas''—a dish popular on the island of Fogo * ''

Grogue Grogue, also known as grogu or grogo (derived from English ''grog''), is a Cape Verdean alcoholic beverage, an aguardente made from sugarcane. Its production is fundamentally artisanal, and nearly all the sugarcane is used in the production of ...

'' or Capeverdean

grog Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to rum diluted with water (and later on long sea voyages, also added the juice of limes or lemons), which British Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon introduced ...

—alcoholic (nowadays also non-alcoholic) beverage, popular on the islands of Santo Antão and

* ''Guisado de percebes'' (barnacle stew)—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 ''bafa'' * ''Legumes cozidos''—cooked vegetables * ''Modje de Sao Nicolau''—beef stew * ''Percebes''—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 (''camarão em vinha de alhos'') * Turtle steak (''bife de tartaruga'')—no longer available, once popular on the island of Santiago * ''Xerém''—a corn dish served with soup.

Beverages

* Strela—beer *Several variety of wines from

Chã das Caldeiras Chã das Caldeiras (“Plain of the Calderas”) is a small community of approximately 700 inhabitants in the crater of the volcano Pico do Fogo on the island of Fogo, Cape Verde. The village consists of two main neighborhoods: Portela and Banga ...

including Santa Luzia and Brava

Desserts

*'' Bolinhos de mandioca com mel'' —honey manioc balls

References

External links

Cape Verde Gastronomy
Capeverde.com {{African cuisine West African cuisine