Cassava pie

For many Bermudians, there is no Christmas without cassava pie. The pie is made from grated and squeezed cassava mixed with butter, eggs, sugar and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, until it forms a thick batter. One layer goes into the bottom of a deep pan, the meat filling is placed in the middle and another layer covers everything. The pie bakes for hours until golden.

The traditional filling is chicken, pork or both, cooked beforehand with salt, pepper and thyme. Some families use beef, and some mix the meat into the batter instead of keeping it in the center. The result is like a dense, buttery, slightly sweet cake with the salty flavor of the meat in the middle.

Cassava arrived in Bermuda from the West Indies early in colonization and was for a long time a survival food. Today it is grown on the islands mainly for Christmas pies, and frozen grated tuber makes preparation easier. A variant, the farine pie, is made with dried cassava that is soaked before being used in the batter.

Each family follows its own recipe, often inherited from grandmothers. The pie is usually assembled and baked on Christmas Eve and accompanies turkey and ham at the December 25 lunch. Eaten hot or cold, at breakfast, lunch or dinner, it lasts through the holiday days. At Easter, many households make cassava pie again.