Discover Cabo Verde through the story of its most beloved national dish.
A Culinary Journey Through the World: Cabo Verde - Cachupa is not simply a book about food. It is a cultural exploration told through a humble, generous, and deeply meaningful island stew.
At the heart of Cabo Verde's domestic food tradition stands Cachupa - a slow-cooked dish of corn, beans, vegetables, and, when available, meat or sausage. Shaped by dry landscapes, Atlantic winds, colonial history, African roots, migration, and generations of home cooking, Cachupa carries far more than nourishment. Behind its apparent simplicity lies a larger story of resilience, memory, hospitality, scarcity, adaptation, and belonging.
In this twenty-ninth volume of the ongoing A Culinary Journey Through the World series, Mikko Valler invites readers to experience Cabo Verde through one of its most intimate cultural expressions. Through history, sensory detail, ritual, symbolism, and storytelling, the book reveals how a single steaming pot can reflect climate, labor, family life, seasonal rhythms, diaspora identity, and the quiet philosophy of shared food.
Inside this book, you will discover:
The cultural and historical roots of Cachupa
The role of corn, beans, cassava, sweet potato, cabbage, sausage, and meat in Cabo Verdean home cooking
The influence of dry island landscapes, Atlantic trade, African heritage, and Portuguese colonial history
The importance of slow cooking, patience, and family ritual in the preparation of Cachupa
A traditional recipe for making Cachupa at home
Reflections on memory, migration, and identity through food
Comparisons with related slow-cooked dishes from Atlantic and West African food cultures
Blending culinary insight with cultural storytelling, this volume is written for readers who believe food is more than sustenance. It is memory, belonging, ritual, endurance, and a living connection between people and place.
This journey across the world continues - one country, one dish at a time.
