Mojama

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Mojama is a Spanish delicacy consisting of filleted salt-cured tuna.

The word mojama comes from Arab musama (dry), but its origins are Phoenician, in concrete from Gdr (Gadir, Cádiz nowadays), the first settlement they founded in Western Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians had learned to dry tuna in sea salt to make it appropriate for trade.

The mojama is made using the loins of the tuna, pressing them in salt for two days. Then the salt is retired, the loins are washed and then put to dry in the sun and the breeze (according to the traditional method) for fifteen to twenty days.

It is usually served in extremely thin slices with olive oil and pieces of tomato or almonds.