Recipe Vegan "Smoked Salmon" From Carrots

Hemulen

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Vegan "Gravlax" From Carrots
porkkala.png

Photo source; the recipe is strongly modified from this original recipe on k-ruoka.fi

Ingredients
4-5 carrots (~500 g)​
570 ml (~700 g) coarse salt​
Marinade
1-2 tablespoons liquid smoke​
2-3 tablespoons evoo​
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar​
1/4 teaspoon white pepper/ground white peppercorns​
Zest of 1 lemon​
1 teaspoon caster sugar​
1-2 teaspoons dried dill​

Preparation

Rinse, scrub and pat dry the carrots but don't peel them. Set the oven on 200 °C. Cover the carrots totally with salt in a small oven dish and cook them in the salt bed for ~1,5 hours. Let cool, break the salt crust and peel the carrots gently. Slice the carrots with a sharp kitchen knife, cheese slicer or peeler into thin, long slices. Mix the marinade and pour it over the slices. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Serve with e.g. cooked potatoes and dill sauce. Consume the carrots within 2-3 days.

Dill sauce: a dollop of extra virgin olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons of strong mustard, citrus juice, a sprinkle of sugar or a teaspoon of maple syrup, a pinch of white pepper and a handful of chopped fresh dill.
 
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Interesting idea. I checked out the original source for this recipe and I'm curious to know why you made the modifications (not a criticism - I'm just interested!). I think the original (if I'm translating correctly) doesn't include sugar, for example.
 
Interesting idea. I checked out the original source for this recipe and I'm curious to know why you made the modifications (not a criticism - I'm just interested!). I think the original (if I'm translating correctly) doesn't include sugar, for example.
We use a pinch of sugar, citrus and dill in our gravlax (salt and spice cured raw salmon) too :okay:. There are as many recipes as there are Finns. For instance my father-in-law uses way more sugar than we do. Here's one gravlax recipe in English with salt and sugar (+ dill and white pepper in the pic). Some people put dried or fresh dill and citrus fruit (zest and/or juice) into the curing mix, some add it only into the mustard sauce. In my opinion fresh dill loses its composition in the curing process so I prefer dried dill in that phase and fresh dill in the sauce. Here is a tangy version of "Vegan Smoked Salmon" with e.g. tamari or soy sauce and garlic :eek:.
 
Yes, some recipes for salmon gravlax does include sugar. I'm find with a pinch of it, but not anything resembling "tons".

I am wondering if there's a way to make vegan gravlax by using sweet potatoes (as I really am not fond of carrots unless they are severely disguised as mirepoix?
 
I am wondering if there's a way to make vegan gravlax by using sweet potatoes (as I really am not fond of carrots unless they are severely disguised as mirepoix?

You might try Rhubarb. It is sweet and though a vegetable, considered a fruit in cooking.

Avoid the leaves as they are toxic with Oxalic Acid which can cause Kidney damage, as in quickly. Oxalic Acid is used in cleaning solvents and can be fatal, if ingested, causing vomiting and convulsions. Avoid them leaves. I would assume that the leaves are removed before being put out in markets, but be aware.
 
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^Rhubarb is not as poisonous as they're intimidating. My hubby ate raw rhubarb stalks regularly in his childhood and never got even a tummy ache. The leaves contain a bit more oxalic acid but they're hardly ever intact in rhubarb stalks or bits sold in grocery stores/freezer units. Rhubarb has a good fibrous texture but it may be a bit too sour and "self-dependent"/distinct in taste to imitate salmon.

Sweet potatoes sound...well...sweet but otherwise good in terms of taste. Starch may make sweet potatoes brittle if they're sliced (and marinated) when done. They're fine as chips/crisps but I doubt that they'd keep intact if they were cut thinly after a 1,5 hour bathe in salt in the oven. Parsnips, turnips, root parsley, swede/rutabaga/turnip, black salsify or other hard root vegetables might work if carrots don't please 🤔. Luckily I'm not vegetarian (or allergic to fish) so I can stick to salmon 😁. It would be great if someone had the energy to try alternative options (as there are a few vegetarians on this site). Baked carrots resemble cured salmon in texture although they're a bit softer - and their taste is mild enough. "Carrot gravlax" recipes have been circulating in Finland and on the internet for a couple of years.

Text edited according to Morning Glory's next message: "many vegetarians on this site" turned into "a few vegetarians on this site". Slight textual adjustments made as well. I'll try to learn using the draft option a bit more often :oops: ... Sorry.
 
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I am wondering if there's a way to make vegan gravlax by using sweet potatoes (as I really am not fond of carrots unless they are severely disguised as mirepoix?

I feel muuch the same way. Carrots are too sweet for my taste buds.

I just guess (no experience) that the amount of starch makes sweet potatoes brittle if they're sliced (and marinated) when done. They're fine as chips/crisps but I doubt that they'd keep intact if they were cut thinly after a 1,5 hour bathe in salt in the oven.

I'd agree - too much starch for the recipe to work. I immediately thought of swede (rutabaga in the US) as you suggested Hemulen.

It would be great if someone had the energy to try alternative options (as there are many vegetarian members on this site).

(My bold)
That isn't true (sadly). Our site owner SatNavSaysStraightOn is 'vegan with eggs' and Duck59 is vegetarian. As far as I know they are the only two vegetarians who are in any sense regular members. I eat vegan/vegetarian a lot and have loads of such recipes on the site but I do eat fish and meat.

I have some swede at the moment so I volunteer to try this out...
 
I would offer to try it out for you, but I'm just off to emergency with a knee injury (so much for trying to use the wheelchair and crutches less! ) I fear the worst, which is a diagnosis of OA in the knees with the cartilage torn through completely. The pain is excruciating to say the least.

Anyhow that aside, I actually don't know what normal gravlax tastes like because despite having travelled widely and often through Scandinavia as a whole (though only 4 times to Finland but one of those stays was over 6 weeks long), despite that, I became vegetarian at the age of 11, so have never actually eaten the 'original' version so have nothing to aim for in taste.

As fish and seafood go, I've only eaten fish fingers (back in the 70's), prawns (in the 80's mainly in Scandinavia) and well that is the sum total of my fish and seafood exposure! Oh and periwinkles off the beaches of Scotland, mostly in the western isles, but some from Glen Etive (again in the 80's). And yes, my exposure to meat is just as limited.
 
As an aside, I think that raw, thinly slices sweet potatoe slices are more likely to go soggy personally. They don't contain a huge amount of starch (carbohydrate) which is one of the reasons they are considered to count towards your 5 a day, whereas potatoes do not. But I'll double check and get some figures for you shortly.

If carrots are too sweet, try older larger ones rather than smaller younger, baby ones. Older ones are more 'woody' and contain much less sugar and more starch.
 
I would offer to try it out for you, but I'm just off to emergency with a knee injury (so much for trying to use the wheelchair and crutches less! ) I fear the worst, which is a diagnosis of OA in the knees with the cartilage torn through completely. The pain is excruciating to say the least.

Anyhow that aside, I actually don't know what normal gravlax tastes like because despite having travelled widely and often through Scandinavia as a whole (though only 4 times to Finland but one of those stays was over 6 weeks long), despite that, I became vegetarian at the age of 11, so have never actually eaten the 'original' version so have nothing to aim for in taste.

As fish and seafood go, I've only eaten fish fingers (back in the 70's), prawns (in the 80's mainly in Scandinavia) and well that is the sum total of my fish and seafood exposure! Oh and periwinkles off the beaches of Scotland, mostly in the western isles, but some from Glen Etive (again in the 80's). And yes, my exposure to meat is just as limited.
Get well soon SatNavSaysStraightOn! I can well buy a few veggies next week and make some experiments as I've eaten quite a bit of salmon. Older/larger carrots definately taste much woodier/starchier/milder than baby carrots. It's the same with pretty much all veggies. The starch in raw potatoes isn't released/liberated so that might work despite the sogginess (as salmon is quite soggy too). I've been taught not to eat raw potatoes but if they don't contain a big amount of solanine (green parts), they should be safe. Cooked potatoes crumble even if the cultivar is "less starchy" or solid. Young courgettes/zucchinis might work too. It's science week next week!
 
I would offer to try it out for you, but I'm just off to emergency with a knee injury (so much for trying to use the wheelchair and crutches less! ) I fear the worst, which is a diagnosis of OA in the knees with the cartilage torn through completely. The pain is excruciating to say the least.

Anyhow that aside, I actually don't know what normal gravlax tastes like because despite having travelled widely and often through Scandinavia as a whole (though only 4 times to Finland but one of those stays was over 6 weeks long), despite that, I became vegetarian at the age of 11, so have never actually eaten the 'original' version so have nothing to aim for in taste.

As fish and seafood go, I've only eaten fish fingers (back in the 70's), prawns (in the 80's mainly in Scandinavia) and well that is the sum total of my fish and seafood exposure! Oh and periwinkles off the beaches of Scotland, mostly in the western isles, but some from Glen Etive (again in the 80's). And yes, my exposure to meat is just as limited.

I'm not a vegan/vegetarian but I usually eat that way most of the time. Sometimes I have to have red meat because I'm prone to anemia and risk passing out (got a ton of injuries just from falling unconscious) but my preference is usually non-meat options.

I'm sorry about your knee injury. I tore my meniscus in the right knee back in 2010. Finally got knee replacement in 2015. Now, I've injured the left knee. I have advanced OA so it's not entirely a surprise. I'm hoping your injury isn't too bad and you can recover well.
 
I'm sorry about your knee injury. I tore my meniscus in the right knee back in 2010. Finally got knee replacement in 2015. Now, I've injured the left knee. I have advanced OA so it's not entirely a surprise. I'm hoping your injury isn't too bad and you can recover well.
Sadly I also have severe OA in both hips. Been told I'll have to have them both replaced within 2 treats. That was 12 months ago but my husband's ankles are worse. They can't have a joint replacement, it's too late for that. All that can be done is for them to be fused. He's had 1 done this February just gone and the other is scheduled for this coming Feb. We both see the same specialist so it was him who decided who was treated first and basically hubby was told that if he left it until both my hips had been done, it would be too late for fusion and nothing would be able to be done. So that kind of settled it really. Both diagnosed with multiple joint, severe OA within 6 weeks of each other. Guess we were simply too active in our youth as well as having the genes for it. But thank goodness we were active and exceptionally fit for all those years. Good memories.

Left doing the hospital. Too busy, so with our (other) health issues it was safer for me to see a doctor on Tuesday. We'll take it from there.
 
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