~294 cal · 6g protein · 65g carbs · 3g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Steamed cornmeal cake sliced with honey
🇨🇻 Santiago (Praia)
Cape Verdean cuscuz is nothing like North African couscous — it is a steamed cornmeal cake, made in a tall clay steamer called a binde and turned out as a soft, faintly sweet round. For breakfast it is sliced and eaten warm with butter and honey, or crumbled into a bowl of coffee and milk.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 6 —
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3 cups fine cornmeal
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1/4 cup sugar
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a pinch a pinch of salt
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as needed warm water
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to taste honey or butter, to serve
Instructions
1
Moisten the cornmeal with the sugar, salt, and warm water until evenly damp and crumbly.
2
Pack loosely into a steamer (a binde or a lined colander).
3
Steam over boiling water about 35 minutes until set and cooked through.
4
Turn out and cool slightly.
5
Slice and serve warm with honey or butter, or with coffee.
Santiago island tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Santiago (Praia). The largest island, home of the slow-simmered cachupa.
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Cape Verde. Atlantic islands whose slow-cooked cachupa never ends.
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Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
More from Cape Verde
Cachupa
The slow-simmered national stew of hominy corn, beans, and meats — endlessly reboiled and always improving.
Ponche
Cape Verde's island punch of grogue (sugarcane rum), molasses, and lime — thick, sweet, and warming, sipped slowly after dinner.