By Suzette Martinez-Standring.

Tomé and Valery Andrade own Cabo Vegan, a Brockton restaurant that offers plant-based cuisine, such as Vegan Bacalhau De Natas.

(Published in our fall 2022 edition as Cape Verdean Delights. See the digital edition here.)

The food history of Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, as it is known to Caboverdianos (Cape Verdeans), traces back to the 15th century. The ingredients, cooking methods, and seasonings are African with influences from the Portuguese, whose colonial rule the Caboverdianos lived under until gaining independence on July 5, 1975.

The largest Cape Verdean communities in the United States are found in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the original immigrants brought here through the New England whaling industry in the early 19th century. Later, Cape Verdeans were agricultural workers in the crop and cranberry farms in Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. Today, many Cape Verdeans are successful professionals throughout Massachusetts.

Cape Verdean cooking is hearty and flavorful, evolving over countless generations. Influences from Portugal and Africa created a flavorful cuisine, and historical hardship resulted in creativity with simple, inexpensive ingredients. Common ingredients include codfish, pork shoulder, sweet potatoes, rice, hominy, and cassava root. Spirit-satisfying dishes are Canja de Galinha (“Canja”), a chicken rice soup, and Cachupa, a stew of meats, hominy, beans, and vegetables. Jagacida (“jag”) is a seasoned rice and bean dish, which has unique local variations in each of the ten islands that make up the Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago 385 miles off the west coast of Africa.

For vegetarians and vegans, Cape Verdean cuisine is easily adaptable; Tome and Valery Andrade own Cabo Vegan, a Brockton restaurant that offers plant-based cuisine, such as Vegan Bacalhau De Natas, a recipe featured here. The couple became vegans for health reasons, and soon embraced new culinary directions. They began sharing their passion for vegetarian and vegan meals with family and friends through tasting parties. Through word of mouth, catering followed, and this summer Cabo Vegan opened its physical location in Brockton.

The traditional Bacalhau stew features salted cod, but the Andrades replace fish with either banana blossoms or hearts of palm and create the umami flavors with nori flakes (dried seaweed) and cashew cream. Restaurateur Andrade said, “Originally, Cape Verdean cooking was about grains and vegetables because meat was a luxury item back then.”

In the Cape Verdean community, home cooks stand out, like Eloisa Spinola of Stoughton. A senior real estate agent with Vicente Realty in Brockton, she serves a primarily Cape Verdean clientele within the growing communities of Quincy, Abington, Weymouth, and Fall River, among others. Family parties are big and festive, and Spinola’s Curry Chicken and Jasmine Rice is always a welcome highlight, a recipe she shares here. She said, “Cape Verdean food stands out for lots of flavor and spice. We love to feed people. That is what’s passed down from generation to generation.”

Looking for more recipes? Explore the popular Cape Verdean recipe blog by Providence’s Crystal DaCruz: www.CrumbSnatched.com.

Suzette Martinez Standring lives in Milton and loves to share recipes from her travels abroad… whenever she can return to traveling. suzmar@comcast.net or visit www.readsuzette.com.

Vegan Bacalhau de Natas

Vegan Bacalhau de Natas

The traditional Bacalhau stew features salted cod, but the Andrades of Cabo Vegan replace fish with either banana blossoms or hearts of palm and create the umami flavors with nori flakes (dried seaweed) and cashew cream. Restaurateur Andrade said, “Originally, Cape Verdean cooking was about grains and vegetables because meat was a luxury item back then.”
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Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Roux

  • 4 tablespoons vegan butter melted
  • 3 tablespoons white flour
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Base Mixture

Base Mixture

  • 15- ounce can chickpeas rinsed drained
  • two 18-ounce cans of banana blossoms rinsed/drained/shredded (alternatives: artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, or firm tofu)
  • 4 to 5 russet potatoes medium-sized, cubed
  • 1 whole sweet onion
  • 4 leeks cleaned & sliced
  • 1 whole medium-sized red bell pepper diced
  • 1 whole medium-sized green bell pepper diced
  • ¼ cup nori flakes
  • 4 to 5 garlic cloves minced/chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Olives green/black (as garnish)
  • Cilantro optional as garnish
  • Cashew Cream
  • 1½ cups raw cashew nuts
  • 1 cup plant-based milk

Instructions
 

  • Soak raw cashews overnight.
  • Blend with plant-based milk, adding milk slowly until desired creaminess. Stir ingredients until creamy.
  • Stir cashew cream and roux over stovetop on low heat until it mixes thoroughly. Cut potatoes into cubes and parboil.
  • Cut banana blossoms to consistency of cod fish meat, no longer than 1-inch pieces.
  • Add olive oil, garlic, and onions to large frying pan.
  • Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
  • Add leeks and both peppers. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add banana blossoms and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and nori flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add chickpeas and potatoes to frying pan and mix.
  • Cook on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, then add half of the creamy cashew/roux sauce. Reserve half of the sauce for topping.
  • Mix thoroughly and place in baking dish of choice.
  • Coat top of mix with remaining cashew cream/roux sauce.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Garnish with olive slices and cilantro.

Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice

Eloise Spinola's Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice

Family parties are big and festive, and Spinola’s Curry Chicken and Jasmine Rice is always a welcome highlight, a recipe she shares here. She said, “Cape Verdean food stands out for lots of flavor and spice. We love to feed people. That is what’s passed down from generation to generation.”
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup jasmine rice
  • 1 sweet onion diced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons Adobo seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons Sazon seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • One 16 oz package of frozen peas and carrots or fresh in season
  • 2 lbs chicken winglets
  • 1 package of beef Polska Kielbasa cut up into small pieces

Instructions
 

  • The night before cooking the dish season the chicken with half of the powdered seasonings and let marinate in the fridge.
  • To make the rice dish:
  • Saute the sweet onions in olive oil and half of the powdered seasonings until onions are tender.
  • Add the spiced chicken and the cut-up sausage to the onions and saute until starts to brown.
  • Add the peas and carrots.
  • Add two cups of water, bring to a boil.
  • When water boils, add the rice, stir, and simmer the dish covered for about 20 minutes.

Notes

Note the above seasonings will be halved. One part is for seasoning the chicken, the other for cooking the onions.