Discover Cape Verde: Cachupa
- Christel Weltzin
- Jun 4, 2020
- 4 min read
History
The Republic of Cabo Verde is a group of ten islands and five islets off the coast of West Africa. The islands were inhabited and colonized in the 15th century by Portuguese explorers and eventually gained independence in 1975. Cachupa (which many consider to be the national dish) can be traced as far back as the 15th century when settlers started planting crops such as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, cabbage, beans and more. To this day, Cachupa remains a classic Cape Verdean dish made slightly differently throughout the country according to each island's unique nature.
What is Cachupa? Cachupa is a hearty stew consisting of corn (hominy), beans and potatoes. These are staple crops on the islands of Cape Verde and are always a constant in this dish. Other vegetables that are on hand are often added like cabbage, kale, carrots and more. Cabbage, kale, carrots and other vegetables are often added as well. The dish is based off of whatever the family or person has on hand.
There are two "versions" of Cachupa known as Cachupa Rica and Cachupa Pobre. Cachupa Rica contains some sort of meat like sausage (chorizo), pork or fish while Cachupa Pobre only contains the vegetables and occasionally fish such as tuna and wahoo. A family that is feeling prosperous or celebrating would make Cachupa Rica since meat tends to be more expensive.
About this dish
Cachupa is a hearty, savory and filling stew. The starch and carbohydrates from the squash, beans and potatoes make this an ultimate satisfying dish. The flavoring is very simple, but still tastes delicious. This dish can be made for any type of eater (meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans!) I have developed a recipe that follows the traditions of the dish, but also remains healthy and tasty. Please enjoy a taste of Cape Verde!
Cachupa
Delicious hearty and savory vegetable stew.
Notes This dish makes about 10-12 servings. (about 1.5-2 cups per serving) Each serving is about 400-500 calories. This recipe can be easily halved to yield less :) For vegetarians, you can leave the chorizo out or opt for vegan chorizo crumbles which help the dish taste even more appetizing!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of oil (can be any neutral vegetable oil, I used avocado)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion (or 2 small onions), diced
1 small butternut squash (about 400g), chopped
1 medium or small sweet potato (about 300g), chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cups of vegetable stock (I used low-sodium)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 bay leaves
1 cup cannelini beans (1 15oz can drained and rinsed)
1 cup red kidney beans (1 15oz can drained and rinsed)
3 cups of hominy (1 large can drained and rinsed)
4 small tomatoes, chopped
1 small cabbage chopped or shredded (white cabbage or green cabbage work well)
10-12oz chorizo (can be sausage cut up or crumbled. Vegan soy chorizo crumbles work great!)
Precook your chorizo meat (if raw) by sautéing it in the pot you intend to use until it is cooked through. (Do not overcook as this will be added into the stew later to cook slightly more. For the vegan chorizo crumbles, I added these in at the end without a precook.)
Drain the meat and put it into a container to use later. Wipe down the pan/pot. While the chorizo is cooking, prep all of the veggies (chop the butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, cabbage and tomatoes into medium cubes - the smaller, the faster the cook time or the larger, the longer the cook time and more rustic the stew.) Mince your garlic and dice your onion.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté until slightly opaque. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 more seconds.
Add the spices to the garlic and onion mixture and stir for about 10 seconds. Next, add the butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots to the pot and stir. Sauté for about 1 minute.
Add the vegetable stock to the vegetable mix and stir. Let this mixture simmer for 25 minutes (or until the vegetables are at the desired tenderness).
Once the vegetables are tender, add the beans, chorizo and hominy. Simmer for about 5 more minutes.
Now add the tomato and cabbage. Let this simmer until the cabbage is at your desired consistency.(I like mine to be a bit crunchier for some added texture.)
Now sit back and enjoy!
Nutrition
This dish is a well-balanced meal. The wide range of vegetables provides a good variety of vitamins and minerals. The beans and chorizo add protein. The vegetable oil serves as a healthier fat while the saturated fat from the chorizo is drained off. Lastly, the carbohydrates are complex which help give needed energy.
This dish can be modified in any way desired (for example, more beans for more protein and carbohydrates or low-sodium stock for a lower-salt result - a lower sodium chorizo (like vegan chorizo) is great as well!)
Regular chorizo meat nutrition.
Vegan soy chorizo nutrition.
Please feel free to subscribe if you liked this post and recipe! I had a wonderful time adapting and creating it and would love to hear your experience and opinion! :) Thanks for reading.
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