Eat the Match: Spain vs Cabo Verde

Pan con tomate and Cachupa.

Group H · Atlanta · June 15, 2026 · Iris

Spain: Pan con tomate (pa amb tomàquet)

Catalonia's greatest gift to the Spanish table is also the simplest thing it produces. A slice of good bread, toasted until crisp, rubbed with raw garlic while it's still hot, then rubbed hard with a halved ripe tomato until the flesh and juice soak into the toast. A generous pour of good olive oil. Flaked salt. That is the dish. The quality of each ingredient is the entire recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 thick slices good country bread or sourdough
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 2 very ripe medium tomatoes, halved
• 4 tbsp good Spanish olive oil (Picual or Arbequina)
• flaked sea salt

Method

1. Toast or grill the bread on both sides until properly crisp — not lightly toasted. Rub each slice immediately with the cut garlic clove while hot (the heat extracts more flavor). Then rub the cut side of the tomato firmly over the bread, pressing until the flesh and juice are absorbed into the surface. Pour olive oil generously over each slice. Finish with flaked salt. Serve immediately — it does not wait.

Cabo Verde: Cachupa rica

Cachupa is the national stew of Cabo Verde — a slow-cooked hominy and bean stew with meat (pork, chorizo, or chicken), vegetables, and whatever else is at hand. Cachupa rica (rich cachupa) includes meat; cachupa pobre (poor cachupa) is the vegetarian version with more vegetables. Both are cooked slowly until the hominy breaks down slightly and absorbs the flavor of everything in the pot. The result is a thick, satisfying stew that tastes like it has been on the stove since morning because, ideally, it has.

Ingredients

• 200g dried hominy (dried corn kernels) or canned hominy, drained
• 200g dried white beans, soaked overnight (or 400g canned)
• 200g fresh sausage (chouriço or similar)
• 200g smoked pork ribs or pork shoulder
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
• 2 medium carrots, cut into rounds
• 200g green cabbage, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. If using dried hominy and beans, soak separately overnight. In a large heavy pot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Brown the sausage and pork ribs briefly, then remove. Cook onion until soft, add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, stir 1 minute. Return the meat to the pot. Add the drained hominy, beans, bay leaves, and enough water to cover generously. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour (or until the hominy is beginning to soften if using dried). Add sweet potatoes and carrots. Cook another 30 minutes. Add cabbage and cook a final 15 minutes. The stew should be thick, the hominy starting to break down at the edges, the beans tender. Season generously. Serve with white rice alongside.