FROM THE PRISCY KITCHEN

FROM AFRICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Bafa (Cape Verdean Seafood Stew)

Name: Bafa (Cape Verdean Seafood Stew)
Cuisine: Cape Verde
Ingredients: 1 kg octopus, cleaned and cut into pieces; 500 g clams or mussels, cleaned; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 medium tomatoes, diced; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp black pepper; ½ tsp chili flakes (optional); 1 cup dry white wine; 2 cups fish stock or water; Salt, to taste; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; Lemon wedges, for serving

Cape Verde ↗Dessert & Snacks ↗

Bafa is a traditional dish of Cape Verdean cuisine. It is typically prepared as a seafood stew using octopus, limpets, whelks, or other shellfish. One of the most popular variations is Bafa de Polvo (octopus bafa). Bafa may be served as a snack, an entrée, or a main dish and is especially associated with the coastal communities of Cape Verde.

Ingredients: 16
From the kitchen: Cape Verde

Jump to recipe

LET’S MAKE SOMETHING GOOD

Preparation

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until softened.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and bell pepper and cook until tender.
Stir in the paprika, black pepper, and chili flakes.
Add the octopus pieces and cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in the white wine and allow it to simmer for 2–3 minutes.
Add the fish stock and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the clams or mussels.
Cover and cook until the shellfish open, about 5–10 minutes.
Discard any shellfish that do not open.
Season with salt to taste.
Stir in the chopped parsley.
Remove the bay leaf.
Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Recipe notes

Text adapted from Wikibooks contributors: https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Cookbook%3ABafa_(Cape_Verdean_Seafood_Stew)&oldid=4638775

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA); additional terms may apply.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Bafa_de_polvo.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bafa_de_polvo.jpg

CC BY 3.0

Adriao

Own work

4638775 (2026-06-03T18:56:46Z)

Explore the original recipe collection and its cooking traditions.

View original recipe source ↗

← Back to Afro-Caribbean recipes

A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR RECIPE

Nutrition estimate

USDA ingredient data

Partial recipe · included ingredients only

The source does not provide a verified serving count. The summary uses original recipe quantities before any batch multiplier, not per serving. Enter your own serving count in the full label to see per-serving amounts.

Calculated automatically from 7 of 16 ingredients. This is an incomplete subtotal, not the full recipe’s nutrition.

Calories: 563 kcal
Fat: 28.1 g
Carbohydrate: 35.4 g
Protein: 5.3 g

Not included: 1 kg octopus, cleaned and cut into pieces, 500 g clams or mussels, cleaned, Green Bell Pepper, Bay Leaf, Black Pepper, ½ tsp chili flakes (optional), 2 cups fish stock or water, Salt, to taste, Lemon wedges, for serving.

1 kg octopus, cleaned and cut into pieces: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
500 g clams or mussels, cleaned: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
Green Bell Pepper: A count without a size or portion unit needs grams.
Bay Leaf: A count without a size or portion unit needs grams.
Black Pepper: No unambiguous USDA portion weight matches this measure.
½ tsp chili flakes (optional): Optional ingredients and uncertain retained amounts need a confirmed edible weight.
2 cups fish stock or water: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
Salt, to taste: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
Lemon wedges, for serving: No unambiguous numeric quantity is specified.

Full nutrition label & calculation notes

Nutrition Facts

Estimated subtotal · included ingredients only

7 of 16 ingredients included. Excluded ingredients are not counted in the amounts or % Daily Values.

Servings in original recipe (optional)

Serving count is unknown. Amounts and % Daily Values below apply to the whole original recipe’s included ingredients.

Amount per original recipe

Calories563

Estimated nutrition facts for included ingredients only
Amount per original recipe	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28.1 g	36%
Saturated Fat 3.9 g	20%
Trans Fat Unavailable	—
Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
Sodium 38.5 mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 35.4 g	13%
Dietary Fiber 6.8 g	24%
Total Sugars 15.5 g	—
Includes Added Sugars Unavailable	—
Protein 5.3 g	—
Vitamin D 0 µg	0%
Calcium 118 mg	9%
Iron 2.9 mg	16%
Potassium 1,111.9 mg	24%

Nutrient data notes

A nutrient amount is unavailable when any included ingredient lacks that source value.

Trans Fat: USDA data missing for Olive Oil.
Includes Added Sugars: USDA data missing for Olive Oil, Onion, Garlic, Tomatoes, Paprika, Dry White Wine, Fresh Parsley.

* Percent Daily Values use FDA reference values for adults and children aged 4 and over, based on a 2,000 calorie diet. They apply to the amount shown above.

— means no % Daily Value is shown. Trans fat and total sugars have no established Daily Value; protein %DV is omitted because protein-quality data is unavailable. Missing nutrient amounts are not treated as zero.

Daily Value reference: FDA ↗

Ingredients used in this estimate

1 kg octopus, cleaned and cut into pieces
Excluded: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
500 g clams or mussels, cleaned
Excluded: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
2 tbsp olive oil
27 g edible ingredient. USDA portion: 1 tablespoon = 13.5 g.
Estimate uses USDA Oil, olive, salad or cooking. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
1 large onion, finely chopped
150 g edible ingredient. USDA portion: 1 large = 150 g.
Onions are estimated using USDA raw onions. Red and other onion varieties can differ. USDA source ↗
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 g edible ingredient. USDA portion: 1 clove = 3 g.
Raw peeled garlic. A bare count is not assumed to mean cloves. USDA source ↗
2 medium tomatoes, diced
246 g edible ingredient. 2 × USDA medium whole (2-3/5" dia); 1 portion = 123 g.
Estimate uses USDA Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Excluded: A count without a size or portion unit needs grams.
Estimate uses USDA Peppers, sweet, green, raw. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
1 bay leaf
Excluded: A count without a size or portion unit needs grams.
Estimate uses USDA Spices, bay leaf. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
1 tsp paprika
2.3 g edible ingredient. USDA portion: 1 tsp = 2.3 g.
Estimate uses USDA Spices, paprika. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
½ tsp black pepper
Excluded: No unambiguous USDA portion weight matches this measure.
Estimate uses USDA Spices, pepper, black. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
½ tsp chili flakes (optional)
Excluded: Optional ingredients and uncertain retained amounts need a confirmed edible weight.
1 cup dry white wine
235.2 g edible ingredient. Converted with US volume units from USDA 1 fl oz = 29.4 g.
Estimate uses USDA Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, white. Quantities refer to edible ingredient weight; brands, varieties and preparation can change the values. USDA source ↗
2 cups fish stock or water
Excluded: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
Salt, to taste
Excluded: This ingredient has a choice, mixed foods, an unspecified package or an unquantified amount. Review the food and edible grams.
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
7.6 g edible ingredient. USDA portion: 1 tbsp = 3.8 g.
Fresh parsley, not dried parsley. USDA source ↗
Lemon wedges, for serving
Excluded: No unambiguous numeric quantity is specified.

Values use ingredient nutrients per 100 g and food-specific USDA portion weights. Cups, tablespoons and teaspoons use US measures. Pinches, handfuls, “to taste” and unspecified package sizes are excluded. Common counted foods use the stated size or a documented standard USDA portion when a count is supplied; these assumptions are identified above. Other unspecified counts remain excluded.

Assumes included ingredients are retained. Cooking losses, drained liquids, discarded oil, alcohol evaporation and changes in water content are not modeled. Missing nutrient values are shown as unavailable, not zero.

Source: USDA FoodData Central. Data retrieved 2026-11-08. These are automatically calculated estimates, not a laboratory analysis.

Adjust ingredients or calculate per serving ↗

Getting the recipes ready