From the latest Do Book, Do Smoke , written by Jen Goss & Scott Davis. It’s a modern guide to smoking and curing. There is something wonderful about smoking your own food. Done well, home smoked ingredients add a new dimension to even quite simple dishes; layers of smoke deepen the flavour and create a rich, warming taste. But it requires a delicate balance, if smoking your own feels like a little much, that’s what our Oak Smoked Water is for.
Jen says “ This is one of my favourite vegan recipes. I first tried smoked carrot as an alternative to smoked salmon at a family Christmas brunch and was blown away. Short version: get a carrot, peel it, blanch it and stick it in the smoker — a great option if you’re throwing a party. Fabulous on a blini or in a salad. ”
Thanks to publishers The Do Book Company and Heather Birnie for her lovely photo.
Ingredients
- 150g cashew cheese or vegan cream cheese
- capers, to taste
- a small bunch of dill, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, for squeezing
- Pure Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste
- For the vegan blinis
- 120g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Pure Sea Salt
- 200ml oat milk (or milk of your choice)
- 2 tsp caster sugar (optional but helps blinis brown)
- vegetable oil, for frying
Method
- Set up your cold smoker and smoke the carrot strips for 2 hours. If you don’t have a smoker, 2-3 drops of oak smoked water with the carrots will do it.
- To prepare the blinis, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Put 2 teaspoons of batter into the pan for each blini, and fry both sides for roughly 1–2 minutes until they are golden brown.
- Once the blinis have cooled, spread half a teaspoon of cashew cheese on top of each one. Top with some smoked carrot, a couple of capers and a few pieces of dill. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper.
