Hi Everyone,

A few weeks ago, I received a request for a recipe for Cheese Pie, “the kind that sells at Salt and Pepper.” The request came from a regular reader of this column. Always using requests as an opportunity to learn, test and re-test recipes, I set about making cheese pies and exploring their origin.

A quick search online was revealing. The Cheese Pie that we make in Guyana is a riff of the Portuguese Egg Tart, pastel de nata. And, in essence, it is like a mini quiche, drawing influence from the British proclivity for custards baked in pastry.

It is believed that Catholic nuns in Portugal created pastel de nata some time before the 18th century. Pastel de nata is made with a …..