Stoba di Cabrito

Medium·35 min active + 1 hour 15 min resting

The everyday ABC-islands stew — goat slow-braised in a tomato-and-sweet-pepper sofrito with onion, garlic, and island spices until tender and rich, served with funchi cornmeal or rice.

Stoba is the everyday stew of the ABC islands — Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao — slow-braised in a tomato-and-pepper base; the goat version, stoba di cabrito, is the most prized. It is Sunday food, Papiamento comfort served with funchi.

Spoon up stoba di cabrito and the goat is tender and dark in a thick, savory tomato-pepper gravy. Bite: the goat is rich and a little gamey, the sofrito sweet and deep, the spices warm with cumin and nutmeg, a gentle scotch-bonnet heat. Comforting and hearty, spooned over funchi cornmeal — the everyday Papiamento home stew.

Browning the goat and building a tomato-pepper sofrito base creates depth; long braising tenderizes the tough goat and reduces the sauce into a clinging gravy. Cumin and nutmeg are the island spice signatures; the potato thickens and stretches the pot.

Variations

With beef (stoba di carni). With oxtail. With papaya (stoba di papaya). Spicier. With dumplings. Drier.

On the Palate

Where Stoba di Cabrito sits in the Aruban flavor cloud

Cook to learn

Brown the goat hard before it stews and then braise it low and slow — that sear builds the deep flavor and the long, gentle time is what turns tough goat fork-tender.

Techniques

Braising Sofrito

Ingredients

Serves 5

How it's made

8 steps · 35 min active + 1 hour 15 min waiting

1
10 min
Cut 1 kg goat into chunks; season with salt, pepper, and lime.
2
10 min
Brown the goat in oil in a heavy pot.
Watch out
Sear until the goat is deeply browned on all sides and sticks a fond to the pot base.
3
8 min
Make a sofrito: fry chopped onion, garlic, sweet pepper, and tomato until soft.
4
3 min
Return the goat; add a little tomato paste and island spices (cumin, nutmeg).
5
3 min
Add water to half-cover and a whole scotch bonnet.
6
76 min
Cover and braise 75 min until the goat is fork-tender.
Watch out
The goat is ready when a fork twists the meat apart with no resistance.
7
25 min
Add a cubed potato in the last 25 min; reduce to a thick gravy.
Watch out
Reduce until the sauce clings to the meat as a thick gravy, not a thin soup.
8
3 min
Serve with funchi or rice.