Tajen, not to be confused with tajine or tagine, is a spicy side dish with fish and tahin, sesame sauce. It is used as a dip, a mezze dish or even a sauce. You can spice it up as much as you want and you can enjoy it warm or cold. Consider it a fish hummus 😉 If you prefer, you can cook fish filets and serve them with tajen as a sauce with or without fish in it.
Ingredients
Difficulty
For 4 persons as part of a mezze
- 400 gr canned tuna, drained
- 250 ml tahin
- 250 ml hot fish stock
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 chili peper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- A small handful coriander leaves
- Juice form 1 lime
- Pine nuts for garnish
Directions
- Peel and slice the onion. Peel and crush the garlic. Chop the chili and coriander.
- Add the tahin to the hot stock and mix well.
- Heat a bit of oil in a pan and fry the onion until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and chili. Add the spices and fry until fragrant.
- Add the fish.
- Pour the the tahin sauce in the pan and add the coriander and lime juice. Mix well and transfer to a serving dish.
- Roast the pine nuts in a pan (without oil) and sprinkle over the tajen.
