One of the best things about going on holiday is letting our hair down and enjoying a couple of weeks of eating whatever we want. Visiting another country offers you the chance to delve deep into the local cuisine and discover brand new delicious dishes. If you are visiting one of the beautiful Cape Verde islands, here are a few recommendations to ensure you don’t miss out on the beautiful and exciting food available.
Cachupa is the national dish of the Cape Verde Islands and offers a unique blend of flavours. It’s a stew consisting of beans, corn, pork, sweet potato, cassava, chorizo and tuna. This much loved meal is packed with protein and is a firm favourite with tourists and holidaymakers. The great thing about the dish is that the beans, corn and vegetables can be prepared separately from the meat, allowing restaurants and eateries to offer a vegetarian version.
Apart from the national dish, the cuisine of the Cape Verde islands is a mixture of elements of cooking traditions borrowed from their neighbours and developed from their own traditional dishes. Pastilla or Bastilla is a pastry combining sweet and salty flavours. It consists of crisp crepe layers and savoury meat that has been slow-cooked in broth and spices, topped off with a layer of sugar, cinnamon and toasted and ground almonds.
Along with an array of sensational sushi and seafood dishes, the islands also offer a diverse range of desserts. Due to the abundance of exotic fruits such as mangos, guavas and coconuts, most restaurants offer an incredible menu of homemade sweets. Doce de Papaia is a slowly baked dish containing sugar, papaya and white brandy and is one of the most popular sweets on the islands.
Whether you prefer sweet or savoury dishes, you will find an endless selection of possibilities regardless of which island you visit. You can spend your evenings exploring the scenic locations and indulging in exquisite food at the many friendly and atmospheric cafes, restaurants and bars.
We specialise in Cape Verde travel and we have intimate knowledge of the islands and the food and attractions available. Our team can arrange a holiday in one location or help you to do some serious island hopping. As the chosen travel agent for a large range of tour operators, we can arrange car hire, airport parking and travel visas, so if you are longing to sample some of these wonderful Cape Verde dishes, get in touch.
