Chef Alia’s Condiments Can’t Miss Kachupa

Alia Santos recently released her Cape Verdean cookbook Temperos da Chef Ália where you can find traditional Creole cuisine recipes.

The event took place at the Centro Cultural de Cabo Verde in July and featured fado singer Ze Perdigao and singer Carla Correia, accompanied on the piano by Humberto Ramos. The book contains recipes for cooking meat, seafood and a wide variety of fish that can be found in Cape Verde, such as tuna, esmoregal, serra or perch, not to mention some Creole starters. “Kachupa cannot be missed. In the book, I have four types of kachupa: rich, tuna, curry kachupa, and vegetarian. And even green corn cacchupa,” says chef Alia, who has a restaurant in Praia, Cape Verde, in the backyard of music. Always with Cape Verde artists playing live until it’s time to close the kitchen. Quintal da Música is the place for traditional Cape Verdean music. Morna, coladeira, funana. Tuesday is a day dedicated to drumming, which is much appreciated. Great names in our music performed here. Cesária Évora, Mário Lúcio, Dino d’Santiago, Selina Pereira, Morgadinho, Albertino, Maira Andrade, Neusa, Elida Almeida, Lucibela, Assol Garcia”, Aliya recalls the house where the great voices of the past sang and the voices of the present continue to sing, and those from the future. It’s almost a rule: an artist who enters the Quintal da Música must take the stage and risk performing with the great “sharks” of Cape Verdean music, such as Zeca Couto, Totinho, Adão Brito, Nataniel Simas, Jorge Pimpa. Or Arlindo Rodriguez.

A home that provides a lot of experience for young musicians, as well as a haven for more experienced musicians when they are not touring other islands or abroad. Where music is played for pleasure, dedication and great improvisation. The perfect place to enjoy tuna carpaccio or rollon soup, fried esmoregal or rich cachupa while the surprises happen on stage.