Cachupa Pobre (Cape Verdean Stew)

Cachupa pobre is the everyday soul of Cape Verde’s national dish: the same slow-simmered hominy corn and beans as its festive sibling cachupa rica (also on the site), but stripped to the essentials — vegetables, a bay leaf, and perhaps a small piece of salt pork if the week allows.

“Pobre” means poor, but the name undersells it: this is resourceful cooking at its most dignified, coaxing depth from corn, beans and time. It is what most Cape Verdean tables eat most days, and it wants nothing.

It is naturally close to vegetarian (fully, if you skip the optional pork), costs very little, and — like all cachupas — is famously better the next day, fried into cachupa refogada with an egg on top.

Cachupa Pobre Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus overnight soaking) · Cook time: about 2 hours · Total: about 2½ hours · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~408 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup hominy corn, soaked overnight
• 1 cup dried beans (kidney, lima or pinto), soaked overnight
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium tomato, diced (or ½ cup canned)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 cup chopped cabbage or kale
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 cups water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small piece salt pork, bacon or smoked sausage (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a big pot and soften the onion and garlic, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomato and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
3. Add the soaked hominy, beans and bay leaf, pour in the water, and boil.
4. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 1 to 2 hours, until the corn and beans are tender.
5. Stir in the sweet potato, cabbage and carrot with the paprika, salt and pepper, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes more.
6. If using salt pork or sausage, add it in the final 30 minutes.
7. Adjust the seasoning and serve warm, with crusty bread — and save some for tomorrow’s refogada.

Recipe Notes

• Skip the optional pork and it is fully plant-based without losing its soul.
• For the celebration version with the full parade of meats, see my cachupa rica recipe.
• The overnight soak is non-negotiable — hominy respects no shortcuts.