Cape Verde Recipes
Atlantic islands whose slow-cooked cachupa never ends. Not sure what to eat in Cape Verde? Start with Cachupa, Canja de Galinha, Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan) and Cuscuz Doce. Here are 8 authentic Cape Verde recipes, each from a specific region, with cultural context and dietary substitutions for every table.
8 recipes
CachupaSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 3 hThe slow-simmered national stew of hominy corn, beans, and meats, endlessly reboiled and always improving.
Cachupa Cuscuz DoceSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 55 minA steamed cornmeal cake, faintly sweet, eaten warm with butter, honey, or milk for breakfast.
Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 3 h 10 minA silky baked milk custard under a dark caramel, one of Cabo Verde's most popular desserts.
Canja de GalinhaSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 1 h 15 minA thick, comforting Cape Verdean chicken and rice soup with carrot, potato and a bright squeeze of lime.
Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 45 minRice simmered with beans, onion, garlic and bay until glossy and tender, the everyday jag of the Cape Verde islands.
Pastel com Diabo DentroSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 1 h 5 minA crisp corn-dough pastry with a spicy tuna filling, whose fiery name means 'pastry with the devil inside'.
Moreia Frita (Cape Verdean Fried Moray Eel)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 2 h 40 minPieces of moray eel seasoned with garlic, bay leaf, pepper and hot sauce, dipped in egg and flour and fried until the skin is crisp, served with lemon as a petisco.
Xerém (Cape Verdean Coarse Cornmeal)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 40 minCoarsely ground dried corn simmered with onion, garlic, green pepper and bay leaf into a soft, savoury porridge, served beside fish, meat stews and fried moray.
📋 Teaching Cape Verde?A free, printable Country of the Week guide for the classroom: geography, a kid-friendly recipe, and discussion prompts.
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