Bermudian Cassava Pie and Pawpaw Montespan

CASSAVA PIE

Christmas would not be the same without this recipe.

Yields: 12 servings

• 6 pounds cassava
• 14 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups butter -- softened
• 1 cup sugar
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• cloves
• allspice
• 4 pounds chicken breast -- and thighs

1. Boil chicken in a large pot with every kind of seasoning you have available! A couple of chopped carrots and stalks of celery will help make the broth rich and savory.
2. Debone chicken and reserve broth.
3. Mix cassava (that has been drained of its juices as much as possible), eggs and soft butter with your hands. Add sugar and a good pinch of all the spices and mix well.
4. In a large, well greased roasting pan, put in about 1 1/2 inches of the cassava mixture. Add the chicken in an evenly distributed layer. Yop with remaining cassava (another 1 1/2 inches) and prick with a fork. Then add about one cup of chicken broth and put in the oven at 350 degrees. This will require approximately 2 hours of cooking. Remember to baste with chicken broth every 1/2 hour. The pie is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

PAWPAW MONTESPAN

In Bermuda, unripened papayas are called pawpaws.

• 4 green pawpaws -- skinned and diced
• 1 tomato -- thinly sliced
• 1 Bermuda onion -- thinly sliced, fried
• 1/2 pound ground round -- browned and drained
• grated cheddar cheese

Cook pawpaws until tender. Mash and put a layer into a greased baking dish. Cover with a thin layer of tomatoes, then meat and onion, then cheese. Repeat these layers until all ingredients have been used. Finish with pawpaw, sprinkle with cheese. Cover with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

For More Bermudian Recipes:

Bermudian Cuisine

Bermuda Desserts

Bermudian Condiments