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Guisado de Búzio (Slow-Braised Sea Snail Stew)

Name: Guisado de Búzio (Slow-Braised Sea Snail Stew)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cabo Verde
Ingredients: 1000 g fresh sea snails or whelks (substitute conch or large sea snails), shell removed and cleaned; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 200 g yellow onion, finely diced; 25 g garlic cloves, finely minced; 250 g ripe plum tomatoes, finely chopped; 35 g concentrated tomato paste; 120 ml dry white wine; 400 ml reserved snail cooking liquor (strained); 300 g cassava (manioc), peeled and cut into 2.5cm cubes; 250 g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2.5cm cubes; 2 pieces dried bay leaves; 1 piece fresh malagueta chili (or red bird's eye chili), slit lengthwise; 15 ml fresh lime juice; coarse sea salt, to taste; freshly cracked black pepper, to taste; 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Tender sea snails braised in a rich, briny tomato and piri-piri sauce with tender cassava and sweet potatoes.

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cabo-verdeseafood-stewsantiago-cuisineslow-braised

The story

Originating along the rocky coastlines of Santiago and São Vicente, Guisado de Búzio is a revered weekend lunch dish that brings families together after morning fishing runs. The sea snails (typically giant rock whelks or Strombus) require a rigorous preliminary boil with sea salt to relax their tough muscular fibers. An insider technical detail is using the strained, mineral-rich snail cooking liquor as the stew's liquid base rather than plain water to maximize coastal depth.

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