Faux Lox and Dill Blinis

Ingredients

For the faux lox

• 4-5 medium carrots

For the marinade

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• ¼ lemon, freshly squeezed
• 1 sheet of nori
• 3-4 sprigs fresh dill

For the blinis 

• 150 g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 200 g oat milk
• pinch of salt

To serve

• 200 ml plant-based crème fraîche
• fresh dill
• lemon wedges
• capers
• black pepper

Method

To make the faux lox

Please note that the faux lox should be prepped 1-2 days ahead of serving, as it needs to marinate in the fridge.

To make the faux lox, start by peeling the carrots into strips with a vegetable peeler. Press quite firmly with the vegetable peeler if you can – the thicker the strips, the juicier and more succulent the lox will become.

Boil a kettle of water, place the carrot peelings in a bowl and cover with the boiled water. Leave to sit while you prepare the marinade so that the carrots soften slightly. Once soft, drain them and dry them well, giving them a good squeeze in a colander or patting dry with a clean tea towel so as much of the water is gone as possible.

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a large, lidded container, then tear up the nori sheet into big pieces and submerge in the marinade. Once the carrot peelings are ready, add these to the container and mix everything well.  Add the fresh dill. Pop the lid on the container and place in the fridge overnight. It will be ready the next day, but you could leave it for another 24 hours if you want to prepare the faux lox 48 hours in advance.

To make the blinis

Make the blinis before you wish to serve the dish. Take the container of lox from the fridge so it has time to come to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pour over the oat milk, stirring until the mixture is just combined without any lumps of flour. Leave the batter to sit for 5-10 minutes before cooking to let the raising agents activate.

Warm a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a drop of vegetable oil, spreading it around the pan. Once the pan is hot, carefully add a tablespoon of the mixture. Keep adding enough tablespoons so that you have enough little blinis to fill the pan. Let them cook for around 3 minutes on the first side, flipping them carefully once bubbles have appeared on top. Once golden and cooked through, set aside on a serving plate. Continue cooking until all the batter has been used up.

Serve the blinis on a plate or chopping board, topping each blini with a spoonful of the crème fraîche, a few strips of the carrot lox, a squeeze of lemon, a caper and a sprig of dill. Once the plate has been assembled, sprinkle over a generous grind of black pepper.