The Best Vegan Bagels and Lox

Step 1

Pre-heat your oven to 190°C (375°F).

Step 2

Place half of the salt into a loaf tin, and lay the still-wet carrots side by side on top.

Step 3

Cover with the remainder of the salt, and bake in the centre of the oven for 90  minutes.

Step 4

Once the carrots have been baked, remove the tin from the oven, and tip out onto a large baking tray. The salt should fall away from the carrots.

Step 5

Leave to cool until you can handle the carrots, then brush away any remaining salt.

Step 6

Remove as much skin as you can from the carrots: I find that the easiest way to do this is to use my thumbnail to break the skin, and then pull away the rest with my fingers. It can be a bit time-consuming but using a knife often results in losing large lumps of carrot flesh too.

Step 7

Whisk together the olive oil, liquid smoke, and apple cider vinegar in a bowl large enough to contain the carrots and marinade.

Step 8

Use a sharp knife to cut the carrots into thin strips, and then place them into the marinade.

Step 9

Using your hands, gently massage the marinade into the carrot strips, ensuring that they're all well-coated. Don't worry if they seem overly greasy at this point, they won't be by the time they're done.

Step 10

Cover the bowl with a lid or silicone bowl cover, and leave in the fridge for the next three days to marinate, turning the carrots over with your hands once a day to make sure they don't dry out.

Step 11

When ready to eat, remove from the fridge, and bring up to room temperature.

Step 12

Cut each bagel in half, and spread each half with the vegan ricotta.

Step 13

Pile the carrot lox over the bottom halves of the bagels, and add the onion rings.

Step 14

Sprinkle over some chopped spring onion and a little salt if using, then add the top half of the bagel.

Step 15

Enjoy!