Caldeirada de Cabrito – Mozambican Goat Stew with Cassava

You’re traveling across northern Mozambique by train, watching red earth, green hills, cassava fields, and scattered villages pass outside the window. When the train stops in Ribáuè, you decide to break your journey and spend the afternoon exploring the town.

Not far from the railway, the smell of slowly cooking goat, tomatoes, peppers, and wine leads you toward a small family restaurant. The cook notices your curiosity and invites you into the kitchen.

Pieces of goat have already been seasoned with white wine, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and oil and slowly cooked until they begin to soften. Then the cook begins building the caldeirada.

Sliced onions form the first layer in a heavy pot, followed by goat, garlic, thick chunks of cassava, ripe tomatoes, and red peppers. The layers are repeated until the pot is full, then white wine and some of the goat’s cooking juices are poured over everything.

The lid goes on, and the stew cooks slowly until the goat becomes tender and the cassava is soft and creamy inside. The tomatoes and onions collapse into the cooking liquid, creating a rustic sauce flavored with wine, garlic, peppers, bay leaf, and the rich juices from the goat.

This is Caldeirada de Cabrito com Mandioca—Mozambican goat stew with cassava. By the time you sit down with a bowl, another train can be heard somewhere beyond the buildings, continuing its journey through northern Mozambique.

Caldeirada de Cabrito

Mozambican Goat Stew with Cassava

Serves 5–6

Ingredients

• 3 pounds bone-in goat meat, cut into serving-size pieces

• 3 pounds peeled cassava, cut into 2-inch chunks

• 4 medium onions, sliced

• 5–6 ripe tomatoes, sliced

• 3 red bell peppers, sliced

• 6 cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 bay leaves

• 1¼ cups dry white wine, divided

• ½ cup olive oil or neutral cooking oil, divided

• 1–1½ cups water, as needed

• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Finding Cassava

Cassava is also sold as mandioca or yuca.

Frozen peeled yuca is the easiest option and can usually be found at African, Latin American, Caribbean, or international grocery stores.

If using fresh cassava, remove the thick brown skin and the layer underneath before cutting it into large chunks.

Frozen cassava can usually be added directly to the stew without thawing.

Season the Goat

Place the goat in a large bowl.

Add:

• ¾ cup white wine

• ¼ cup oil

• bay leaves

• salt

• black pepper

Mix well so the goat is thoroughly coated.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. For deeper flavor, marinate for several hours or overnight.

Partially Cook the Goat

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Transfer the goat and all of its marinade to a covered Dutch oven or deep roasting pan.

Cover tightly and cook for about 1½ hours.

The goat should be starting to become tender but does not need to be completely cooked yet.

Young goat may need less time, while mature goat may take longer.

Remove the goat from the pot and reserve all of the cooking juices.

Build the Caldeirada

Spread a layer of sliced onions across the bottom of a large Dutch oven or heavy covered pot.

Add some of the goat.

Scatter some of the garlic over the meat.

Add a layer of cassava, followed by tomatoes and red peppers.

Repeat the layers:

onion → goat → garlic → cassava → tomato → red pepper

Continue until all of the ingredients have been used.

Add the Cooking Liquid

Pour the reserved goat cooking juices over the layered ingredients.

Add the remaining ½ cup white wine and about 1 cup water.

Drizzle the remaining ¼ cup oil over the top.

Scatter about half of the parsley over everything.

The ingredients do not need to be completely submerged. The tomatoes, onions, peppers, and goat will release additional liquid as they cook.

Slow-Cook the Stew

Cover the pot tightly.

Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop, then reduce the heat to low.

Cook for about 45–60 minutes, or until the goat is very tender and the cassava can easily be pierced with a fork.

Gently move the ingredients occasionally to prevent sticking, but avoid stirring aggressively because the cassava becomes fragile as it softens.

If the pot begins to dry out before everything is tender, add a little hot water.

Finish the Caldeirada

Taste the cooking liquid and adjust the salt and black pepper.

Scatter the remaining parsley over the stew.

Let the pot rest off the heat for about 10 minutes before serving.

Some of the cassava may begin breaking apart around the edges and thicken the tomato-and-wine cooking juices. This gives the finished caldeirada a rich, rustic texture.

Slow Cooker Option

Season the goat as directed.

For the best texture, partially cook the goat first, then layer the onions, goat, garlic, cassava, tomatoes, and peppers in the slow cooker.

Pour the goat cooking juices and remaining wine over everything.

Because a slow cooker retains more moisture, use only about ½ cup additional water to start.

Cook on low for about 6–8 hours, or until the goat and cassava are completely tender.

Handle the finished stew gently so the cassava does not completely fall apart.

To Serve

Serve Caldeirada de Cabrito hot in wide bowls with plenty of goat, cassava, vegetables, and the tomato-and-wine cooking juices spooned over everything.

Because cassava already provides the starch, the stew does not need rice or potatoes alongside it. A simple green salad or crusty bread makes a good accompaniment.

The cassava is an important part of the dish, absorbing the juices from the goat along with the wine, tomato, garlic, peppers, and bay leaf as it becomes soft and almost creamy inside.