Carrot ‘lox’ with ‘cream cheese’, capers and dill canapés recipe by Gaz Oakley
Preparing the carrot this way surprisingly emulates smoked salmon, harnessing the taste-of-the-sea flavour of nori seaweed. A delicious canapé that will please everyone.
Serves 6
For the smoked “salmon”
vegetable stock 440ml
miso paste 1 tbsp
sweet smoked paprika 3 tbsp
nori 1 large sheet
maple syrup 2 tbsp
smoked sea salt 2 tbsp (or regular sea salt)
lemon juice of 1
carrots 5 large, peeled
For the “cream cheese”
raw cashew nuts 125g
lemon juice 2 tbsp
sea salt and white pepper a pinch
nutritional yeast 1 tbsp
filtered water 110ml
To serve
rye bread 6 slices, toasted (or a gluten-free bread), cut into small pieces for canapés
lemon slices
capers 3 tbsp
fresh dill a small handful
Place all the smoked “salmon” ingredients except the carrots into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavours infuse.
While the broth is cooking, use a peeler to slice the carrots into long ribbons and place them in a large heatproof bowl.
Pour the broth through a sieve directly over the carrots into the bowl. This will lightly cook them. When the broth has cooled, cover the bowl with clingfilm or place the mixture into sterilised jars. Refrigerate for at least a day (or up to seven days). The broth acts as a marinade.
To make the “cream cheese”, soak the nuts in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain away the soaking water and tip the nuts into a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Simply blitz everything until smooth, then use straight away or store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To serve, generously spread the “cream cheese” on to pieces of toasted bread, top with the smoked “salmon” (drained of the marinade), then top with lemon, capers and dill.
From Plants Only Holidays by Gaz Oakley (Quadrille, £18.99)
