Food and drink Cape Verde-style

With Portuguese, Brazilian and French influences, Cape Verde's cuisine is bound to be something to look forward to tasting.

Visitors to the main island in the archipelago, Santiago, have many lovely eateries to choose from when deciding on their midday or evening meals. Some restaurants specialise in particular dishes and extend their menus beyond the traditional fare for those who prefer a more cosmopolitan choice. Often there is live music or other entertainment to enjoy while eating.

In the capital Praia, for example, Gamboa puts on live music most weekends. Sambala rates the establishment - which is located Cha d'Areia, close to the Brazilian Embassy - highly for both food and service.

A less formal family atmosphere could attract other visitors to the Dragoeira, an open-air restaurant also popular with local people. It serves pork kebabs and grilled chicken as its specialities and is located in Meio da Achada.

For energetic types who like to combine dancing with their eating, a visit to the Tabanka could be on the holiday agenda. This venue is named after a traditional form of music and dance and the waitresses encourage patrons to join in their dance to a lively beat drummed out on leather cushions and tabletops.

Situated between Meio da Achada and Terra Branca districts, the Tabanka is a large, open plan restaurant and its dishes include grilled meat and fish, pasta and pizza.

Lovers of freshly-caught fish should certainly check out what's on offer at the Beira Mar. Mouthwatering locally caught tuna, wahoo, dorado and grouper are grilled outside in the restaurant courtyard. Visitors can find this place in Cha d'Areia, again near to the Brazilian Embassy.

Those who fancy trying a bit of Cape Verde at home could try a recipe, like this one for Cachupa Rica from the Fairtrade Cookbook. The ingredients are listed as dried and hulled cracked corn, dry lima beans and kidney beans, pork, chorizo sausage, cabbage, garlic, onions, chopped tomatoes and chicken stock, along with a few herbs and spices to taste.

However, there does not seem to be a hard-and-fast rule to making this dish, the website said.

"This is a forgiving stew, use what you have to hand," it suggested - so could be an easy dish to modify for vegetarians.

It essentially involves preparing the corn and the beans for an hour, then adding the majority of the other ingredients and covering to simmer for another 90 minutes.

Other Cape Verde-style dishes include corn, rice and bean and fish dishes.

This article has been brought to you by Sambala Developments: The property developer for Cape Verde property

This article has been brought to you be Sambala; the developer for Cape Verde Property.

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