Carrot Lox that can fool a carni! Becoming vegan about 2 years ago I have missed smoked salmon ever since. And although we found Sophie’s Kitchen vegan smoked salmon in LA (which is made from seaweed and very similar to the real thing!) It is nice to be able to make a nice replacement at home (and at a cheaper price too).
There is nothing better than biting into this fresh, salty, tangy, crispy, soft, dream on a weekend morning. Or any day! These carrot lox are a brunch dream.
The carrot lox can be added to a vegan salad niçoise instead of tuna, added to pasta, stuffed into homemade ravioli, in little party sandwiches, or any way you please. The lox do not have a discernible carrot taste post-transformation.
I added them in sandwiches for my grandmother’s high tea party for her 80th birthday party. We fooled a few people who were keen to tell me that ‘I was wrong and it was most definitely smoked salmon!’. Loved the looks on their faces when they realised it was in fact carrot 🙂
Please let me know what you think of this recipe and post your picture with #notetoiris <3
You can also add these Chocolate Orange Bliss Balls to your high tea 🙂
Carrot 'Smoked Salmon' Lox
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Ingredients
- 4 large (or 7 medium) carrots
- 2.5 tablespoons non flavoured oil of choice
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 teaspoon of liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cut off tops of carrots, do not peel yet, and rinse under cool water
- Place carrots in steaming basket in a large pot with appropriate level of water. Place lid on top and steam for about 10 minutes until carrots are soft when pierced but not mushy. Adjust time as needed.
- Gently remove carrots from basket and place on a board until cool enough to handle
- Remove carrot ends and skins. I used a sharp paring knife and gently ‘shaved’ the skin off. I found this the easiest method of removal. Using a vegetable peeler may work for you but for me it removed too much flesh. If removing the skin is too troublesome, just leave it on.
- Mix the sea salt, vinegar, liquid smoke, and oil together in your air-tight container you’ll use for the marination. Make sure your container seals really well so the liquid doesn’t spill while mixing and so your fridge doesn’t get stinky with the strong smell over the next few days.
- Then slice the carrots thinly. I used a sharp knife and lay the carrots horizontally (as shown in the picture above) and carefully slice strips. I first cut a slice off one side and rotated the carrot so the flat side was down to be more stable while slicing the rest of the carrot.
- After slicing, gently place the carrots into your air-tight container with the marinade in the bottom. Seal it up and gently rotate the container to coat the carrots with the liquid. Then place it into the fridge for 2 days. Add a bit more oil if the carrots look dry. They shouldn’t be dripping with oil but subtly shiny.
- At least once a day, take the container out and gently rotate the carrots to coat them evenly with the marinade. After 2 days (you can leave it longer and the flavour will be more mellow) the lox will be silky and oh so delicious.
- I find the sea salt gives it a perfect ‘fishy’ flavour but if you like a stronger flavour, you can add some chopped nori (seaweed) sheet to the marinade and carrots.
Notes
Don't be tempted to adjust the liquid smoke. It's a strong smell and too much can be disastrous. It may smell really strong when you first mix up the marinade but it will mellow quite a bit after a few days. The longer you leave the lox in the fridge, the more mellow the flavour.
