VEGAN CARROT SMOKED LOX
You’re vegan, but still miss salmon! Yes, you can imitate smoked salmon and make your own ‘lox’. Try this recipe and you’ll be in vegan heaven! Stack it on a baguette or bagel with marinated capers and dill and I promise you, it’s just as good as the real thing. Non-vegans will think its real smoked salmon. I have made this numerous times and have been asked a number of times to make it for our vegan family events. Everyone loves it.
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 60 ml capers, finely chopped
- 30 ml caper brine or pickle juice
- 60 ml lemon juice
- 10 ml liquid smoke
- 30 ml olive oil
- 1 – 2 heaped teaspoons store-bought minced garlic
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 or 2 baguettes or bagels, sliced
- 1 tub vegan cream cheese
- fresh dill, finely chopped
Top and tail and peel the carrots. (see notes)
Fill a large pot with water (enough to cover the carrots) and bring to a rolling boil.
Lower the carrots in the boiling water and cook the carrots for only 10 minutes (if you use the whole carrot or large pieces). Do not overcook, as it will get mushy. (see notes)
In the unlikely event that it’s not soft enough, keep boiling until your carrots are fork-tender but NOT all the way through.
Meanwhile, use a large Ziploc bag and combine the capers, brine, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, liquid smoke, salt and pepper. Mix well.
When the carrots are done, remove it from the boiling water and transfer it to a pot of cold water (with ice cubes) as this will stop the cooking process.
When the carrots are cooled, use a potato peeler and start to shave thin slices of carrot. If you’re fortunate enough to own a Mandolin slicer, use that, to thinly slice the carrots.
Add the carrot slices to the Ziploc bag with the marinade, making sure it is well coated with the marinade.
Seal the bag, try to remove as much air from the bag as possible.
Place the bag on a plate and leave in the fridge for 2 days to ensure the flavor seeped into the carrots and get that nice smoky flavor. The longer the better, but I guess around 6 – 12 hours will be adequate.
Serving suggestions:
Slice the baguette or bagel and liberally spread it with vegan cream cheese.
Place the marinated carrot strips on top of the cheese spread, add some marinated capers and decorate with fresh dill.
The carrot strips can also be rolled in small rolls, place them on a serving tray with toothpicks, should you have some extra strips left.
Notes:
If the carrots are extremely thick and large, it’s best to cut each carrot in half lengthwise to cook them quicker and also to make it easier to cut afterwards.
The first time I made them. I cut them into quarters and that works perfectly for me (cut them in half and then again lengthwise).
Another option is to slice the carrots, add the slices to the boiling water and lightly boil it until bright and tender but still crisp, remove and add the slices immediately in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Recipe tested and photos: Esme Slabs
