World Cup Special - Cabo Verde
I just had to try the food of Cabo Verde who turned out to be the story of the World Cup this year. Cabo Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha stole the hearts of the world for his sheer dogged resilience; saving goal after goal. Aptly I tried cachupa; the national dish of Cabo Verde. This hearty stew of hominy, beans local vegetables has turned into a symbol of Cape Verdean resilience. It's roots derive from the Portuguese settlers arriving to these uninhabited islands off the coast of West Africa. The islands were heavily used in the transatlantic slave trade and as a consequence bringing in enslaved people from the mainland. With the brutality of enslavers the diet of those enslaved was poor. The use of African staples like beans and cassava and the introduction of crops like corn from the Americas became the mainstay of many Cape Verdeans. I paired the cachupa with some cassava bread and cassava chips making for a very hearty meal. Chachupa...
