Day 32- Cape Verde(EU) -Cachupinha, Corn and Fava Bean Stew -Up Next, Central African Republic (AF)

 Cape Verdean Cachupinha for Lunch!


Buddy Boy - always ready to lend a paw and unconditionally loyal support to any and all of my nutty pursuits

Heating up the olive oil in over my wondrously awesome cooking pit

I have to apologize up front for a minor technical difficulty. I somehow managed to lose the memory card for my camera somewhere outside while building the fire in my cooking pit. On it, were pictures of the meal preparation, main ingredients and some smokin' good fire building pictures as well. I didn't have time to run out to get a new one, so the following pictures were taken using my video camera which does well outside, but not so well inside as it lacks a flash. Luckily, other than the prep, the cooking and eating of this meal took place outside, so as Mr. Shakespeare said,   "All's well that ends well."  That Bard of Avon knew what was what.


And, a huge thank you to my bff, Lisa who has an amazing green thumb, is phenomenally creative and truly scary-smart,  for providing the yellow squash and zucchini for this meal. You always have a way of making the ordinary, extraordinary :)


Cape Verde (Praia)(EU-Portugal): Cape Verde's national dish is Cachupa,  a stew of hominy and beans with fish or meat, a dish often served for special occasions and feasts. I chose to make Cachupinha instead, a dish that relies less heavily on meat and is eaten on a more regular basis by typical families on any given night (or left over for breakfast).  Plus, I'm kind of on a budget this week,  as we have to fork over our son's college tuition check this week which is enough to make even the most rabid foodie lose her appetite (well, who am I kidding,  almost)...so,  I picked a close second that was a little cheaper to make. I found all the ingredients I needed at Market Basket in Ashland  - I'd be lost without that store! www.marketbasketfoods.com

 

Linguica, Lisa's yellow squash, zucchini and onions

 

The main ingredients: fava beans (I shelled them last night), fresh corn, cut off the cob, cilantro, tomatoes, onion, zucchini, squash and linguica

 

Mango, plantain and Yuca

(for desert)

I used the cast iron pot my brother gave me - added olive oil, then the onions and linguica

 

Next, I added the corn kernels from 5 years of sweet I bought at ourlocal farm stand

 

Next, I added Lisa's squash and the tomatoes

A  few beautiful close ups, Liam, my in-house photographer,  took of the stew

 

I added about 2 cups of water to it, and put the lid on to let it simmer away for about 1/2 an hour! The smell of the wood fire and stew were unbelievable! 

 

The whole meal, including desert which was mango with plantains I'd put on the grill

Cape Verde's dry, tropical island environment and its role in Portugal's 15th-century colonizations have shaped its cooking traditions. Enslaved Africans brought knowledge of growing and cooking tropical crops. The Portuguese brought livestock. They used Cape Verde for feeding the crews of their sailing ships and as an experimental station for growing foods from the Americas, such as corn, hot peppers, pumpkins, and cassava. They also transplanted sugar,bananas, mangos, papayas, and other tropical crops from Asia. For more information, check out this awesome site where I got all the information I need to write this blog entry: http://www1.umassd.edu/specialprograms/caboverde/cvrecipes.html

Broad Beans- I soaked them over night and shelled them this morning - really good!

CACHUPINHA

5 ears fresh corn (or fresh off cob)
1/5 lb. (100 g.) linguica (Portuguese smoked sausage),
sliced 1/4 squash
1/2 lb. (1/4 kg.) fava beans, (or lima beans) fresh or dried &
2 ripe tomatoes (or equivalent tomato paste)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 peppercorns
1 bunch of flat leaf coriander
1 large onion, sliced

Scrape off the fresh corn kernels into a boiler pot. Gently saute onion, linguica, and pepper in olive oil. Add to the corn the rest of the ingredients and a sufficient amount of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer. Prior to serving, season with salt and garnish with chopped flat leaf coriander (cilantro).

Final Assessment: This was a great meal. Easy to make, not labor time intensive and full of flavor. Accompanied by the grilled plantain and fresh mango, it was the perfect summer lunch.