food

Vegan Salmon Bagel

This smoked salmon is not what it seems

food

Vegan Salmon Bagel

This smoked salmon is not what it seems

Supplies

  • Vegan smoked ‘salmon’:
  • 6 large carrots, skin on
  • 2kg table salt
  • 2 tbsp oil from jar of sun dried tomatoes
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp liquid smoke
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1/2 lemon, zest only
  • 2 black peppercorns, crushed
  • 4 juniper berries, crushed
  • 1 beetroot, peeled and grated
  • 4 x 1 inch strips kombu, rehydrated
  • Small bunch fresh dill
  • Vegan cream ‘cheese’:
  • 200g cashews, soaked in 500ml water overnight
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp white miso paste
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 2 bagels, to serve

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Wash the carrots, leave the skin on and don’t dry them. Half fill a deep oven dish with salt, then put the carrots in. Fill up with the rest of the salt so that the carrots are fully covered. Bake the carrots for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then leave to cool.
  2. Make the marinade: Put the oils, liquid smoke, sugar lemon zest, peppercorns and crushed juniper into a mixing bowl and whisk it all together. Put the marinade into a ziplock bag big enough to hold the carrots. Add in the the rehydrated kombu, grated beetroot, and a few sprigs of dill.
  3. Once the salt-baked carrots are cool enough to handle, carefully break into the salt crust with a as spoon. Lift the carrots out and brush off the excess salt. Use your fingers to gently peel away the carrot skin, then put the carrots, whole, into the ziplock bag. Seal it up and leave it in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. At the same time, put the cashew nuts into a 500 millilitre jug and top it up with water. Leave that in the fridge for the same amount of time as the carrots.
  4. Make the cashew cream cheese: Once the cashews have soaked overnight, or at least 8 hours, drain them and put them into the small bowl of a food processor. Add in the coconut oil, rice vinegar, miso paste, lemon juice and water. Process for around 5 minutes, scraping down the sides a few times, until you have a thick creamy paste. Put the cream into a small container and leave it, covered, in the fridge for an hour or longer.
  5. After the curing time, take the carrots out of the marinade and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Slice them as thinly as possible, lengthways.
  6. Split the bagels in two, and spread a generous helping of cream ‘cheese’ on the bottom slice. Load up with half of the carrot slices, and a few extra pieces of dill. Then top with the bagel lid and serve.