Whoever said vegetarian fare is to be dull and tasteless, has obviously never savoured anything made by one of Canada’s most widely recognized vegetarian cooks, Nettie Cronish. With three vegetarian tomes under her belt: Nettie’s Vegetarian Kitchen (1996), New Vegetarian Basics (1999), and Becoming Vegetarian in Canada (2000). She’s currently working on her fourth book which promises to be unique and not just for vegetarians.
In her varied career, Nettie has worked as a health spa chef, as the owner of “Vegetarian Gourmet Delights”- a vegetarian catering company based in Toronto and a health food store called “Goldberries.” She also created a vegetarian frozen food business and currently teaches cooking classes where ever the need arises.
The Road to Choosing Vegetarianism
When asked why she chose to become vegetarian, Nettie replied, “I travelled a lot and decided I wanted to live a little lower on the food chain. People all over the world eat like this and it just made sense to me.” Having said that, prior to starting the class, Nettie told us that her children and husband are not vegetarian- so she’s had to learn the fine art of being flexible in her home cooking.
Vegetarian Party Menu
At a recent summertime inspired cooking class at Nella Cucina, Nettie offered up a spate of party-worthy treats fit for any patio. A few really caught the taste buds by happy surprise including the Ginger Almond Dip and the Tempeh Sloppy Joes (sooo good- even your carnivores will ask for seconds).
But in this missive, Nettie is kindly sharing one of her most popular desserts, the Mango Cream Pie. It’s absolutely dairy free (therefore suitable for vegans), and it sets up firmly thanks to agar-agar (derived from seaweed) and kudzu (a root starch originally from Japan).
Without further ado, here is Nettie Cronish’s Mango Cream Pie recipe, originally published in New Vegetarian Basics, 1999.
Ingredients:
CRUST
- 1 ½ Cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. non-GMO canola oil or olive oil
FILLING
- 1 tsp. kudzu
- 2 cups vanilla soy milk
- 3 tbsp. agar-agar flakes
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
- Zest of 1 small, organic orange, grated
- Pinch each of cardamom and sea salt
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 2 small or 1 large very ripe mango- peeled and pureed
Method:
- In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, maple syrup and oil; evenly press onto bottom and side of a nine inch, 23 cm pit plate. Set aside.
- In small bowl, dissolve kudzu in 2tsp. of soymilk, set aside.
- In saucepan, combine the remaining soymilk, agar-agar, maple syrup, zest, cardamom and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add dissolved kudzu and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the vanilla and fold in the pureed mango. Stir for 1 minute or until combined.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. The pie can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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