Non-dairy lemon meringue pie

[Guest guest]

My family loves my lemon meringue pie--I've been making it for 20

years. But five years ago I became a vegetarian, and I learned a lot

about where the food we eat comes from and the many abuses inherent m

the average American way of eating. I always buy eggs from free-range

hens, but would like to move away from even using those. I'd also

like to reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol in the recipe, and

in my diet in general. Hope you can help me--my college-age daughter

always likes to have a lemon meringue pie waiting for her when she

comes home for vacations!

 

MY MISSION WAS CLEAR but daunting on this assignment. Eggs are an

integral part of lemon meringue pie, necessary to thicken the creamy,

tart filling, and the primary ingredient in the pie's crowning glory,

a fluffy white meringue. Could they be successfully eliminated, or at

least cut back?

 

After much testing, I have good news and more good news. The first

piece of good news is that I have developed a more healthful lemon

meringue pie, using natural ingredients such as canola oil, fruit-

juice concentrate, kudzu and agar-agar. Egg whites, however, are

still used for the meringue. And while the finished product is not as

rich as the original, it's still tasty and definitely better for you.

 

The other piece of good news is that if you're strictly vegan, you

can still enjoy your pie, as long as you are willing to make some

adjustments when it comes to your expectations for an eggless

meringue topping.

 

But first, let's take a closer look at the elements that make up a

lemon meringue pie: the crust; the lemon filling or pudding; and the

meringue topping. The crust from the reader's recipe calls for

shortening, something I consider " fake " food,' in that it can stay on

the shelf indefinitely without going bad.

 

The traditional lemon pudding contains sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks,

margarine, lemon juice and zest. While admittedly quite delicious,

the sugar content is rather high and the egg yolks pack more fat than

I'd like. As for the meringue topping, it's made from a lot of egg

whites and a lot of sugar. This was going to be one tough assignment.

 

For the crust, I eliminated shortening by using a combination of

canola oil and apple juice. You can substitute a store-bought pie

shell for this recipe, but every time I took a bite of this pie using

all of my own ingredients, I felt a lot better knowing I wasn't

eating refined white sugar, hydrogenated shortening additives and

preservatives.

 

For the lemon filling, I replaced lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar,

cornstarch and margarine with a more healthful pudding made of

natural-style frozen lemonade concentrate, natural sweeteners, agar-

agar powder and kudzu. I chose not to use cornstarch as a thickener

because it is highly refined and would only thicken the filling, not

set it. I also chose not to use arrowroot as a thickener as it lacks

the gelling ability of kudzu. Gelatin, of course, was out as a

thickener because it contains animal products.

 

For the meringue topping, I reduced the number of egg whites used for

a 9-inch pie from six to five, and reduced the sugar as well. For the

vegan version, I found that Egg Replacer, a starchy eggless powder

available at health food markets, whipped up into nice white frothy

peaks that closely resemble meringue.

 

Although the Egg Replacer package calls for beating in gelatin as a

stabilizer, I left it out and still had good results, as long as the

Egg Replacer meringue is not baked. My recommendation is to whip it

up just before serving and to spoon it on the pie at the last minute.

 

I also tested a margarine-based dessert topping from a vegan

cookbook, but it was too oily. So in my more healthful version of

lemon meringue pie, the egg whites remain, albeit with less sugar,

and the Egg Replacer topping will do for vegans.

 

When it comes to preparing the new healthful version of lemon

meringue pie, there is only one difference in the basic technique.

Because agar-agar is used as a thickener rather than eggs, the crust

and filling cannot be baked again to finish off the meringue.

Reheating the agar-agar-thickened pudding causes it to break down.

Instead, the meringue must be browned separately on a cookie sheet

and then placed on top of the finished pudding and crust. The vegan

version of the pie is not baked either because the Egg Replacer

meringue deflates after coming out of the oven.

 

Lemon Meringue Pie After Redux

 

Crust:

 

1 cup unbleached white flour 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/4

tsp. salt 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 4 Tbs. canola oil 5 to 6 Tbs.

apple juice, chilled

 

Lemon filling:

 

12-oz. container frozen natural-style lemonade 4 cups water 2 Tbs.

kudzu (see glossary) 1 Tbs. agar-agar powder (see glossary) 5 Tbs.

lemon juice 2 tsp. grated lemon zest 4 to 5 Tbs. turbinado sugar (see

glossary) or granulated sugar cane juice (see glossary) 1/4 tsp.

lemon extract

 

Meringue topping: 5 large egg whites 5 Tbs. sugar (see note)

 

CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flours, salt and baking

powder. Add oil; mix lightly with a spatula until oil is absorbed.

Add apple juice; mix again to form a ball. Knead gently 1 minute, or

until smooth. Flatten dough into a disk shape, cover with plastic

film and chill 20 to 30 minutes.

 

Roll out dough on floured surface 1 to 2 inches than a 9-inch pie

pan. Fit dough into lightly oiled pan, easing dough along sides. Trim

excess to edge of pan; crimp with fork. Chill 20 minutes more.

Tightly line bottom of crust with aluminum foil; weight with rice,

dried beans or pie weights. Bake until light brown and crisp, 2 0 to

3 0 minutes.

 

Lemon Filling: In saucepan, reconstitute lemonade with 4 cups water.

Remove 3 tablespoons lemonade, mix with kudzu and set aside. Add agar-

agar to saucepan; stir until dissolved, about 3 0 seconds. Stir kudzu

mixture vigorously; add to saucepan. Stir until pudding thickens,

about 1 0 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, zest, sugar

and lemon extract. Adjust sugar and/or lemon to taste. Let mixture

cool slightly, then spoon into cooked pie crust. Refrigerate until

firm, about 2 hours.

 

Meringue Topping: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg whites in

cold bowl until foamy; add sugar and continue to beat until thick

peaks form. (Using an electric mixer produces superior peaks.

 

Lightly oil half a cookie sheet. With a spatula, gently spoon egg

whites onto sheet in a 9 -inch circle. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or

until peaks are light brown. Carefully lift meringue topping off

cookie sheet with 2 spatulas; place on top of pie. Refrigerate at

least 1 hour before serving. Makes 8 servings.

 

Note: Unless you don't mind beige meringue, white sugar works best

for this and the vegan meringue. PER SERVING: 464 CAL.; 5G PROT.; 8G

FAT; 98G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 169MG SOD.; 2G FIBER. OVO-LACTO

 

Vegan Meringue Topping

 

6 tsp. Egg Replacer (see glossary) 4 Tbs. water 2 Tbs. sugar 1 tsp.

vanilla

 

30 MINUTES OR LESS

 

Mix Egg Replacer and water together. Stir in sugar and vanilla; beat

until stiff, about 1 0 minutes. Spoon onto chilled pie just before

serving. Makes about 1 cup. PER 1 1/2 TABLESPOON SERVING: 20 CAL.; 0

PROT.; 0 FAT; 5G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 1 MG SOD.; 0 FIBER. VEGAN

 

Lemon Meringue Pie

 

The following ingredients were submitted by the reader who requested

this redux.

 

Crust:

 

1 1/3 cups flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cups shortening

 

Filling:

 

1 1/3 cups sugar 1/3 cup cornstarch 3 egg yolks 1 Tbs. margarine 1

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

 

Meringue:

 

6 egg whites 6 Tbs. sugar PER SERVING: 620 CAL.; 6G PROT.; 39G FAT;

61G CARB.; 82MG CHOL.; 184MG SOD.; 0.6G FIBER.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: GLOSSARY

 

Agar-agar: A clear, flavorless sea vegetable. It is freeze-dried,

sold in sticks, flakes or powder. Also known as agar.

 

Egg Replacer: The brand name for a powdered combination of starches

and leaving agents that bind cooked and baked foods in place of eggs.

Sold in health food stores.

 

Granulated sugar cane juice: Made from sugar cane juice that is

dehydrated by spinning at a high temperature through a vacuum tunnel

and then milled into a powder. Only the water is removed, leaving the

vitamins, minerals and trace elements naturally present in sugar cane.

 

Kudzu: A white starchy powder made from the root of the kudzu plant.

Used for thickening soups, sauces and puddings.

 

Turbinado sugar: Sugar made from the first crystallization of cane

juice. It retains some of the molasses, which accounts for its golden-

brown color.

 

Do you have a favorite meat recipe you'd like converted to meatless?

Or a vegetarian recipe you'd like to make vegan or with less fat?

Send it, along with any related personal anecdotes and your daytime

phone number, to: Recipe Redux, c/o Vegetarian Times, P.O. Box 570,

Oak Park, IL 60303; or e-mail it ot 74651.215 (74651,

215 within CompuServe). Only recipes chosen for publication will be

converted.

 

Ken Charney is a private natural foods chef/caterer based in New York

City. He is a frequent contributor to Vegetarian Times.

 

COPYRIGHT 1996 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.