Acadian Gathering Pie
SAULNIERVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA
Rappie pie calls for 20 pounds of potatoes, which must be peeled, grated and wrung out in small batches. Once dry, they are rehydrated with hot chicken stock, then poured into a casserole dish, topped with shredded chicken, more grated potatoes, hunks of salt pork and dollops of butter, then crisped in an oven. Processing this many potatoes requires time and teamwork, which is precisely the point of a rappie pie, an exercise in fellowship to gather the dwindling Acadian community of Nova Scotia.