A Slice Of A Bermudian Christmas
It’s an authentically Bermudian Christmas tradition as well as an authentic example of Bermuda cuisine.
Cassava pie is as much a centrepiece of the island’s celebrations as turkey is at American Christmas dinners.
Best described as a sweet, rich cake filled with chicken, pork or both, cassava pie has a distinctively nutty taste.
Eaten hot — or cold — for breakfast, lunch or dinner over the Christmas holidays, thousands of Bermudians still make the savoury pie from scratch in an annual Yuletide family tradition.
The origins of cassava pie go back almost 400 years to when the island was first settled.
Then the starchy root of the cassava tree was abundant in Bermuda. Today — with very little cassava locally cultivated — the island imports tons of the root from North America and the West Indies.
The unprocessed root — highly poisonous in its natural state — is soaked in water overnight to dilute and extract the toxins.
Once it’s been peeled and grated, cassava is used in recipes which vary from household to household.
A standard recipe for the savoury Christmas delicacy — using chicken — appears below:
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 lbs butter
3 cups sugar
15 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla
3 lbs. cassava
3 cups farina
5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cooked and cut up (not shredded)
Retain stock after cooking chicken
DIRECTIONS
Retain stock after cooking chicken
Cream the butter and sugar, then add eggs, salt, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat well. Add cassava and farina. Beat well. Grease pans with Crisco or Pam.
Line pan with cassava mix followed by the chicken pieces, chicken stock and the remainder of cassava mix. Do not put a thick layer of the cassava mix on the bottom of the pan. Save more for the top layer.
Cook at 325° F for 2 1/2 hours if using the small pans, longer for larger pans. Add chicken stock frequently. It is better to make ahead of time and freeze uncooked.
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