Categories: Culture, Feature, Food, Travel

It’s been said that food is the most primitive form of comfort. The ultimate comfort food in my books is a French Acadian dish called Pâté à la râpure: a.k.a. râpure in French, or rappie pie in English. But it bears no resemblance to what we normally think of as a “pie.” Rather, it looks like a blob of thick gray glue and is downright unappealing.

Yet, mention rappie pie where I live and people’s eyes light up, their taste buds start to dance, and they shiver with anticipation — including me. For rappie pie fans, the visual aspect is nothing to fuss about. It’s all about flavour, tradition, homecoming, family — and a good measure of Acadian pride in preserving this recipe.

First, a little background: as far as I can determine, râpure doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada except in certain parts of Southwest Nova Scotia – like the Clare area, Yarmouth, Pubnico and Wedgeport. In travel guides, this area is known as Yarmouth & Acadian Shores. In these regions, rappie pie is a household name and featured in local restaurants. Yet, wander out of this geographic area (about a 40-mile radius) and you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who’s ever heard of rappie pie.

Although it’s unquestionably an Acadian dish, there are different views about its origin. Acadian author Edith Tufts suggests that râpure was introduced to the Acadian communities after the Deportation in 1755, but prior to the Acadians returning.

“Some were stranded in the Boston area where pretty little Acadian girls met up with some German soldiers stationed there. It was through them that they got this recipe for making what we call rappie pie – grated potato pie,” Edith says. After they returned to Nova Scotia, Acadians were growing lots of potatoes and it was a natural thing for them to adopt this new recipe.

“It became ‘un mets de rassemblement,’ a favourite dish popular for all sorts of gatherings.”

Some believe that the history of rappie pie can be traced back to the Acadians who came from Brittany or Normandy. There also could be a connection to the European potato pancake (latke) that’s now so popular in North America.

Whatever its origin, râpure has been around Acadian communities in Nova Scotia for generations. It tops everyone’s list as the favoured dish for homecomings, christening, wakes, Christmas and New Years—or any time the mood strikes. I recently had some women friends over for lunch. Getting nine busy women together on the same day is no easy feat. But I mentioned that I was making a big batch of rappie pie and everyone showed up.

So how is this weird and wonderful dish made, anyway?

Traditionally, you’d start with a bucket of potatoes and grate them (using the smallest holes on a grater). Then the grated potato would be wrung out in a cloth bag to remove liquid, leaving only the pulp. Today, companies like D’Eons Rappie Pie—Râpure in Pubnico do this commercially and the pulp can be bought in local grocery stores. But many people still do this from scratch.

The next job is to cook a chicken in a big pot of water. Making a tasty broth is important, so add onions, a couple of chicken cubes, summer savoury, onions and liberal doses of salt and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, remove from pot, de-bone it and break into hunks. Bring the liquid back to a boil. Now the fun begins.

In a large bowl, slowly mix the hot broth into the potato pulp. Five pounds of potato pulp will require about 20 cups of broth. In a large greased pan (18×12x3 inches) pour half of the potato mixture, then arrange the cooked chicken on top along with three or four chopped onions.

Cover with remaining potato mixture. Dot the top with small hunks of salted pork fat, or dabs of butter. Then cook in a 400-degree oven for 2-3 hours. The top should brown up and get nice and crispy.

In the olden days, the Acadians often put duck, geese, rabbit, deer, pork—even clams — in rappie pie. Some still do. It’s delicious any-which-way. Rappie pie is usually served with butter and can be accompanied by chow-chow, cranberry sauce or molasses. Some folks put ketchup on rappie pie, but that’s considered a mortal sin.

In my next blog I’ll fill you in on the Acadian culture and give you 10 good reasons why you should visit my part of the world here in Nova Scotia.

Photo Credits

“Helen LeBlanc pours potato pulp into large pan, part of making rappie pie” © Sandra Phinney

“Preparing potatoes for Rappie Pie at D’Eons Rappie Pie—Râpure in Pubnico, NS” © Sandra Phinney

“Rappie Pie as served at the Red Cap Restaurant in Pubnico, NS” © Helen LeBlanc