maybe as important as a decorated tree and presents.

The cassava plant has a long history of feeding locals, it was brought to Bermuda from the West Indies in 1616.

Traditionally, the cassava root was peeled, grated and placed in a large muslin bag which was hung over a bowl over night. This would allow the poisonous juice to drip from the cassava.

The next day locals would squeeze out the remaining juice and then set about preparing the tasty dish.

Thanks to modern conveniences, locals can today purchase cassava already grated in pre-measured plastic bags.

Farina, the dried starch of the cassava, can also be purchased in pre-measured plastic bags but it must be soaked before it is used.

As with any national dish, everyone makes it slightly different and swears that their way tastes the best.

Here are several cassava and farine pie recipes, take a look at them and see which one you might want to follow to make your delicious pie for your Christmas dinner.

*** CASSAVA PIE 10 pounds cassava 12 to 18 eggs 1 pound butter Nutmeg and Mace to taste Salt 21 cups sugar (more or less to taste) 1 medium chicken, boiled PARBOIL chicken, cool, de-bone (save broth). Place cassava, salt and spices in bowl. Cream butter sugar, add beaten eggs; combine with cassava. Line greased pan with mixture, place chicken meat, plus one cup broth in centre; cover with remaining mixture. Bake 4 hours.

*** FARINE PIE 1 pound farine 1 can cream 1 cup water 3 pound sugar (11 to 2 cups) 1 pound butter (1 cup) 1 dozen eggs 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt Chicken, pork or beef SOAK farine in milk and water overnight; add water to keep moist, until ready to mix with batter.

Cream sugar and butter, add eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Add farine to this mixture. Pour in baking pan and add layers of meat as desired, cover with layers of farine mixture. Bake for approximately 2 hours at 350 degrees. This recipe may be doubled for a larger pie.

*** CASSAVA/FARINE PIE 4 pounds cassava 3 pounds farine or 1 small package cream of wheat 11 dozen eggs 11 pounds butter 1 pound flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons mixed spices or 1 tablespoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg 2 cups sugar (to taste) 2 teaspoon salt 2 pounds pork, 5 pounds chicken Delicious cassava pie recipes BOIL pork and chicken, season to taste with salt, pepper and thyme. Save stock and cut meat into small pieces.

Cream butter and eggs, add cassava and farine. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, spices and salt. Add sugar to taste. Add about 1 cup of meat stock to moisten. Line bottom and sides of a large oval pan about 1 1 inches thick with mixture. Fill centre with meat and 1 cup stock.

Cover top with the balance of mixture. Bake approximately 3 hours and baste occasionally with stock in slow oven. 325 degrees.

Recipes from The Continental Society of Bermuda Cookbook *** CASSAVA PIE 5 pounds grated cassava root (available frozen) 3 pounds chicken pieces, light and dark 2 pounds pork pieces 1 tin chicken broth, plus 2 cups water 3 cloves garlic, sliced in half 1 small onion, quartered Small bundle fresh thyme Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Batter 1 cup sugar (or more, according to taste) 3 cup butter Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (1 teaspoon) 10 eggs One 14-ounce tin condensed milk 1 heaping tablespoon vegetable shortening 1 cup flour 1 pound (1 stick) of butter, melted A DAY or two before you plan to actually make the pie, defrost and drain the cassava in an open bowl in the refrigerator. This will allow the root to remain tender and it also removes excess moisture.

Poach the chicken and pork pieces in the chicken broth and water along with the garlic, onion, fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste, until just cooked.

Drain, reserving the broth.

While this is going on, you can assemble the batter. In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and milk until fluffy. Now add the eggs one at a time. Season according to taste with grated nutmeg.

In a large earthware bowl, blend well with your hands the egg-sugar mixture and the cassava.

Now liberally grease and lightly flour an oblong pan (like a lasagna pan) with the vegetable shortening. This will ensure two things-that a nice crust develops along the sides and that you'll be able to get the pie out of the pan once it's baked.

Put down a layer of the 'batter' in the pan using a little more than half the batter. Put in a layer of the meats. Season again with salt and pepper if you like. Cover with the a layer of remaining batter.

Bake in a pre-heated 350' degree oven for 1 hour. Then cover with aluminium foil, lower the heat to 250 degrees and continue baking another 2 hours.

Remove the foil.

The pie should pull away from the sides when done. The moistness of the batter -- really determines the cooking time. Don't undercook; if you're not sure, test with a cake tester or knife -- when it comes out clean, it's baked.

To ensure moistness, baste once or twice with the broth in which the chicken and pork has been cooked.

If more browning on top is required, simply run under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Brush with melted butter and serve, or cool and serve the following day. A little aging, as with many things, undoubtedly improves the flavour of this holiday specialty (many households freeze it weeks ahead of time)., Recipe from Spirit of Bermuda *** CASSAVA PIE 4 pounds Cassava 1 pound soft butter 2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon salt 12 eggs (beaten) 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon vanilla PLACE the Cassava in a dish towel and squeeze out all of the liquid. Place the Cassava in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar in a larger bowl, add beaten eggs then Cassava. Mix well.

FILLING: Simmer until cooled 4 to 5 pounds of chicken with 2 teaspoons of salt, a sprig of thyme and a few stalks of celery. When cooked, cool the chicken. Discard bones and skin. Reserve the broth.

You may prefer to use 3 pounds of cooked chicken and 1 pound cooked cubed, lean pork.

GENEROUSLY grease a deep pan about 11 x 9 x 4 inches with shortening. DO NOT USE butter or oil sprays. These cause the pie to brown too quickly.

Place half of the batter in the pan building it up on the sides.

Place meat filling in the pie. Moisten this with about 3 cup liquid poured evenly over it. Cover with remaining Cassava mixture and smooth down making a design with a knife.

Bake the pie at 300 degrees F about 3 hours.

If you notice the pie shrinking from the sides of the pan before the 3 hours then the pie is cooked.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool covered with a damp dishtowel and foil.

This will keep the crust from becoming hard.

The above recipe should be sufficient for a family of 4.

*** FARINA PIE 1 pound farina 1 pound butter 6 eggs 11 cups sugar 1 level tablespoon salt 3 tin evaporated milk (about 9 ounces.) 2 pounds cooked chicken 1 cup chicken broth DAMPEN the Farina with 2 cups of water. Let stand for 2 or more hours. Prepare the Farina pie the same as the Cassava pie recipe above. Bake for 2 hours at 325 degrees F.

Recipes from The Bermuda Cookbook.