From Olives for Dinner & Connoisseurus Veg | Serves: 1.5 cups / 8 | Time: A lot of lead time for both, but pretty easy. Definitely need to think days ahead for the lox, and hours ahead for the cream cheese.
Ingredients
Carrot Lox
2 cups coarse sea salt, plus more if needed
3 large #carrots (do not peel them)
1 TB olive oil*
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon coconut vinegar
Cashew Cream Cheese
1 cup raw #cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Add ons of choice (I threw in some fresh dill)
Other ingredients
Bread, duh (I went with toasted whole wheat)
I threw on some avocado
Great for #breakfast, #brunch, or #lunch!
Instructions
Carrot Lox
Preheat oven to 375.
To slow roast the carrots, place one cup of coarse sea salt into a glass pyrex that offers just enough room to accommodate the length and width of the carrots so you can keep them whole. Rinse the unpeeled carrots and place them wet into the salt, making sure that the carrots are nestled in the salt and do not make contact with the bottom of the pyrex. Pour about another whole cup of salt evenly over the tops, adding a bit more as needed to ensure they are fully covered in salt.
Place into the oven to roast, uncovered, for an hour and a half.
Once done, tip the pyrex over onto a baking sheet and allow the carrots to cool just enough that you can handle them. Crack away and brush off any salt, then peel away the skin. It’s fine if there is still some skin left on the carrot. Then, using a mandolin or sharp knife, finely chop the carrots into jagged, thin strips. Place into a clean glass container.
To marinate the carrots, whisk together the olive oil, liquid smoke and coconut vinegar. (If you have a little more or little less than 1 1/2 cups carrot, just add a little more or less of the liquid components as needed.)
Drizzle over the warm carrots and toss well to coat. At this point, the flavor will not taste very “lox like”—they will need to be placed in the refrigerator for at least two days to allow the flavor to deepen and mellow, and for the carrots to get really soft and silky.
*If the carrots start to look dry during marinating time, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and give it a good stir. (You want the carrots to look soft and slightly shiny throughout the marinating time.)
When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and allow the carrots to come to room temperature, then serve with toasted bagels, capers, vegan cream cheese, red onion and fresh sprigs of dill as desired.
Cashew Cream Cheese
Place the cashews, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the mixture as needed.
Taste test and add additional salt and/or lemon juice if you like.
Add any stir-ins to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped and well blended.
Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
What I ate and drank today (4/19/2018)
96 oz of water
1 cup of decaf
Adult beverages
Carrot lox and cashew cream cheese sandwich with avocado
2 spoonfuls of peanut butter
Dinner out
Exercise
~3 miles of hiking
~1 mile of walking
What I ate and drank today (4/18/2018)
96 oz of water
3 cups of decaf
Wine from Pearmund Cellars
Beer from Wort Hog Brewery
1/2 cup of coconut milk yogurt
2 sweet potato quinoa cakes with blackberry salsa
Eggplant parmesan sandwich from Black Bear Bistro
Arancini ball
Exercise
~3 miles of walking