Cassava Pie

Hard·1 hour 40 min active + 2 hours 20 min resting

Bermuda's Christmas pie — grated cassava sweetened and seasoned, layered with chicken and pork stewed in a savory broth, baked into a dense, sliceable casserole. Made only for Christmas; every family has its own recipe; widely considered Bermuda's most-treasured culinary heritage.

Cassava pie is the Bermudian Christmas dish that families don't substitute, don't make outside December, and pass down through generations. Each Bermudian family has a slightly different recipe, but the basic structure is fixed: a sweetened cassava 'crust' encloses a savory chicken-and-pork filling. It carries the cassava tradition of the Taíno Caribbean and African slave-era cooking, adapted in Bermuda over four centuries.

Cut a wedge of warm cassava pie — golden-brown top, pale yellow cassava layers above and below visible chunks of dark-brown stewed chicken and pork. Bite: the cassava is dense, slightly sweet, custardy from the eggs and butter, with the faint nutty fragrance of cinnamon and nutmeg; the meat filling is deeply savory with allspice and soy umami; the contrast between sweet cassava and savory meat is the dish's signature. Restaurant cassava pies often disappoint; only the home-cooked version captures the soul. With cranberry sauce on Christmas day, this is Bermudian heritage in a single slice.

Squeezing the grated cassava is non-optional and not just for texture — fresh cassava contains hydrocyanic acid (cyanide precursor); the squeezed liquid carries it away. Eating insufficiently-prepared cassava can be toxic. Sweetening the cassava with sugar+eggs creates the custardy structure that holds the savory meat filling. Baking deeply (75-90 min) ensures the eggs set into firm structure that can be sliced.

Variations

Cassava pie with beef (modern). With chicken only (vegetarian-adjacent). With added raisins in the cassava (sweeter). Spicier version with scotch bonnet. With sweet potato substituted for some cassava. Mini cassava pies (individual portions).

On the Palate

Where Cassava Pie sits in the Bermudan flavor cloud

Cook to learn

Squeeze the grated cassava bone-dry before you sweeten it: that pressed-out liquid carries the hydrocyanic acid, and the dry pulp is what lets the egg-and-sugar custard set firm enough to slice.

Techniques

Baking Simmering

Ingredients

Serves 10

How it's made

12 steps · 1 hour 40 min active + 2 hours 20 min waiting

1
92 min
Make filling first (can be made a day ahead): in a large pot, cover 1 chicken (cut into 8 pieces) and 1 kg pork shoulder (cubed) with water. Add 1 onion, 2 bay leaves, 4 sprigs thyme, 1 tsp salt. Simmer 90 min until very tender. Drain (reserve broth); pull meat off bones; dice (discard skin and bones).
Watch out
Simmer the meat until a piece falls apart when pressed — undercooked now means stringy meat in the pie.
2
25 min
Sauté 2 chopped onions and 4 minced garlic cloves in 2 tbsp butter 5 min. Add diced meat; brown 5 min. Season with 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp soy sauce. Add 250 ml reserved broth; simmer 10 min. Cool.
3
30 min
Make cassava crust: peel 2 kg fresh cassava root (or substitute thawed frozen cassava). Grate finely (a food processor with the grating disc helps).
4
5 min
Squeeze grated cassava firmly in a tea towel to remove the hydrocyanic-acid-containing liquid (CRITICAL — this is poisonous; squeeze well and discard the liquid).
Watch out
Keep squeezing until the towel gives up almost no liquid; this step is both safety and structure.
5
6 min
Combine squeezed cassava with 200 g sugar, 5 large eggs, 80 g melted butter, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp vanilla; mix thoroughly.
Watch out
The mixed batter should look like a thick, wet sand held together by egg — not soupy.
6
1 min
Preheat oven to 175°C. Butter a deep 25-cm round baking pan.
7
6 min
Press 2/3 of the cassava mixture into the pan and up the sides as a crust.
8
2 min
Spoon the meat filling evenly into the crust.
9
3 min
Cover with the remaining cassava mixture, sealing edges.
10
82 min
Bake 75-90 min until golden-brown on top and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Watch out
Top should be deep golden and set; a clean knife means the eggs have firmed all the way through.
11
22 min
Rest 20 min before slicing into wedges.
12
1 min
Serve warm or at room temperature on Christmas Day, alongside roast turkey or pork.