Cape Verde Essentials

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Bean and Corn Stew

Cachupa

Slow-cooked hominy, bean, and meat ishtu that defines Cape Verdean identity—each island claims its own version.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Grogue

Sugarcane rum distilled in trapiche presses on Santo Antão, sharp and artisanal—the islands' national spirit.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Jagacida

Red-gold rice and bean pilaf from Fogo Island, seasoned with paprika and bay leaves—nicknamed jag and eaten everywhere.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Pastry with the Devil Inside

Pastel com diabo dentro

Deep-fried pastry whose name means pastry with the devil inside, packing a fiery pepper kick into every bite.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Xerém

Coarse cornmeal porridge simmered with salted pork or fish, the grainy polenta-like staple that accompanies every broth.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Fish Broth

Caldo de Peixe

Atlantic fish ishtu with mackerel, pumpkin, and potatoes in tomato broth, served with rice and corn puree on the side.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Goat Cheese with Papaya Jam

Queijo de Cabra com Doce de Papaia

Fresh island goat cheese paired with sweet papaya jam, the classic Cape Verdean dessert of salty-meets-sweet.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Cape Verdean Samosas

Chamuças

Cape Verde's take on the samosa, triangular fried pastries filled with spiced meat or fish from Indian-Portuguese heritage.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Cape Verdean Feijoada

Feijoada

Rock-bean ishtu with salt-pork and chouriço, lighter in color than its Brazilian cousin and served over white rice.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Honey Manioc Balls

Bolinhos de mandioca com mel

Honey-sweetened cassava balls deep-fried until crisp, a traditional Cape Verdean sweet with chewy interior and floral finish.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Ponche

Pontche

Grogue cut with condensed milk or molasses into a creamy, potent punch—Cape Verde's signature cocktail at any gathering.

🇨🇻Cape Verde

Strela

The lager that overtook Portuguese imports Super Bock and Sagres since 2006, served ice-cold at every bar and beach shack.