Watch this video to learn how to make carrots taste like smoked salmon! Scroll down to get the written recipe!
As a former pescetarian, I used to love salmon. I genuinely thought I could never give up fish because of this! For some reason, fish was the last thing I gave up and was the hardest thing for me to give up. It’s funny because now I don’t even think about it or crave it but sometimes I do get the nostalgic feelings of having certain dishes – such as smoked salmon with cream cheese. This isn’t something I ate much of before going vegan, but it definitely still has an element of nostalgia to it.
Now as a vegan, smoked salmon is out of the equation but that doesn’t mean we can’t play with food and bring back those nostalgic feelings! Luckily, I found this recipe by a vegan blog called ‘Olives for Dinner’ where apparently, salmon lox can be substituted by an unexpected vegan alternative–carrot lox!
Yes, my friends! Behold the Carrot Lox recipe where you use a little bit of marinade magic to make carrots taste like smoked salmon! Honestly, the magic of vegan cooking shocks me sometimes… People are just so creative!
I’m super excited for this recipe because I feel like I can do so much more than just have this with bagels and vegan cream cheese. I’m excited to see what else I can make with just a little bit of imagination.
Just to give you a heads up, I changed up just a few things from the original recipe. First, the recipe called for baking the carrots (bathed in salt) in a glass pyrex. Now, I didn’t even know what a glass “pyrex” was but I assumed it was a glass baking dish – instead of glass, I just used what I had. Also, I found that the container I used at the beginning was too big. Because of that, I had to go find a smaller one so I won’t waste too much salt (I hate wasting anything, you guys… watch the video for more context lol).
Second, I couldn’t find coarse SEA salt and coconut vinegar, so I just used the regular alternatives. I’m not really sure if it made much of a difference, but they seemed to work as well.
Just a disclaimer: if you want to try making this right away, you won’t be tasting your Carrot Lox just yet because you’ll have to marinate the carrots for 2 days (yes, you read it right!). This way, the carrots will be able to soak up the marinade really well, resulting in that delicious, smokey salmon flavour.
Don’t forget to watch the video above to see how I made the Carrot Lox, and see the written recipe down below.
Carrot Lox Recipe
Original recipe here.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups coarse salt and more if needed (the recipe suggested sea salt)
- 3 large carrots, unpeeled
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil (or more)
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon vinegar (the original recipe suggested coconut vinegar but I just used regular white vinegar)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Put 1 cup of salt in a container and cover the bottom completely.
- Rinse the carrots (do not peel them!). While they’re still wet, place them in the container on top of the salt. Feel free to cut up the carrots if they won’t fit in the container.
- Pour another cup of salt over the carrots. Add more to make sure the carrots are completely covered.
- Place the container in the preheated oven and leave them to roast for 1 ½ hour.
- After roasting, you’ll find that the salt has hardened. Feel free to break it to allow the carrots to cool.
- For the marinade, mix olive oil, liquid smoke, and vinegar together in a small bowl.
- Peel the carrots using a knife (it’s easier!) and cut it using jagged, thin strokes.
- Place the sliced carrots in a container and pour in the marinade. Mix well.
- Leave this in the refrigerator for 2 days to allow the marinade to soak well into the carrots.
- After 2 days, take the carrot lox out and add more olive oil if the mixture looks dry.
Assembly:
- Spread vegan cream cheese on a bagel (or your bread of choice).
- Top with the carrot lox you just made.
- Top with red onions and capers (optional).
- Take a bite and experience that delicious, smokey flavour!
