Posted By Kimberly Turner on Jul 12, 2014 in Beef, Canadian Food Recipes, Chicken, Cooking How-To Videos, Cooking Shows, Cooking with Kimberly, Ethnic Foods, Featured, Fruit & Vegetables, How To Cook, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Poultry & Fowl, Roots & Tubers, Turkey, Veggies | 0 comments

Smoked Paprika Acadian Rappie Pie is a hearty Eastern Canadian dish.

Rappie pie is part of traditional Acadian cookery, and the main part of the dish is comprised of a grated potato puree called rapure.

The rapure or grated puree is a commercial product that is readily available at most Nova Scotia supermarkets, and is made specially for rappie pie and potato dumplings.

However, this Nova Scotian ingredient isn’t easily found in local Ontario supermarkets. Thus, I have my own recipe for creating the potato puree, that works for me.

The quickest way to make the puree is to use an electric juicer where the raw potatoes are fed into the juicer and the pulp and liquid starch are separated. Then, the pulp is combined with generous portions of broth and butter to loosen up and reconstitute the potato puree.

Some folks prefer the potato mush or puree to be made soupier than others. Also, most rappie pie recipes call for chicken to be used but many cooks prefer to use beef, turkey, pork or salt pork.

How to Bake Smoked Paprika Acadian Rappie Pie:

Like so many traditional ethnic dishes, every family has their own particular version of rappie pie, with each claiming that their recipe is the best.

I don’t know if my recipe is the best, but my family has found it to be very tasty and appealing.

Type: Entrée Recipe

Prep Time: 35 min
Cook Time – 1 – 1 1/2 hrs
Yield: 6 servings

The ingredients & instructions are listed below the video for measurements & directions. Please enjoy this webisode of Cooking with Kimberly:

Ingredients:

8 medium-sized potatoes – juiced with pulp reserved
6 – 8 cups chicken broth – boiling
1/2 minced onion or 3 tbsp chopped scallions or chopped chives
5 or 6 strips of bacon or 2 links farmer’s sausage – saute bacon until barely browning and then cut into 2 inch pieces and reserve the rendered bacon fat; removed from casing & browned
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup cooked chicken or turkey – shredded or cut into chunks
1 lb ground beef – browned
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika – I used La Chinata Sweet Smoked Paprika.
1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika – I used La Chinata Hot Smoked Paprika.
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 tbsp parsley – minced
1/2 tsp minced basil or dried basil
1/4 tsp summer savory – * optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F.
Juice 12 potatoes, reserving the pulp, and discarding the juice.
Into a suitable baking dish, pour part of the reserved rendered fat from cooking the bacon or some butter, making sure the bottom and sides are well greased.
Spread potato pulp into bottom of baking dish.
Bring chicken broth up to a boil in a sauce pan.
Add 2 cups of chicken broth to the potato pulp.
- Tips: The potatoes will reconstitute with the addition of the broth.
Follow with a layer of the browned beef, then the cooked chicken or turkey, and bacon pieces or browned sausage. Do not mix meat into potatoes.
Add seasonings of smoked paprika, basil, parsley, summer savory & cracked pepper.
Juice 8 more potatoes & gently spread mixture evenly on top of the meat. Dot the top with pats of butter, and sprinkle with some more sweet smoked paprika.
Bake at 36o degrees F for approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hrs or until the rappie pie has a deep golden brown coloring and there is a nice crispiness on top.
- Note: Give it a check to be sure you feel it has cooked enough. If more time is required, continue to cook for 15 min more at a time until the color and texture is to your satisfaction.
Serve immediately.