Tajen: White Fish With Sesame Paste

A community recipe by SamIAm

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

Introduction

We call this TAJEN in Lebanon. It is basically fillets of white fish cooked smothered in a divine tahini (sesame paste) sauce.

Ingredients

Serves: 6 -8

For the Fish

28 ounces white fish (fillets, for example sea bass or sole, skinned)
5 tablespoons olive oil
21 ounces onions (medium-sized, thinly sliced)
1 cup hot water
gram salt
gram white pepper

For the Tahini Sauce

1 cup tahini
1¾ cups water
2 cloves crushed garlic
½ cup lemon juice

For the Decoration

fish (trimmings)
¼ cup pinenuts
fresh parsley (a few leaves)

Method

Tajen: White Fish With Sesame Paste is a community recipe submitted by SamIAm and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Pre-heat oven at 200 degrees.

Brush the fillets of fish with 1/3 of the amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Put the fish fillets in an oven proof pan that has been greased with oil. Put pan in the oven and bake between 12 to 20 minutes (depending of thickness of fish). Take the pan out of the oven and keep the fish warm.

Meanwhile with what was left of the olive oil, fry the onion, tossing them constantly in the pan until they wilt but do not change color, about 7 minutes. Add a cup of hot water over the onions, cover the pan, not fully, and cook on low heat until all water evaporates and the onions have softened. In a bowl, mix the tahini with the 1-3/4 cup of water. Add the crushed garlic. Then the lemon juice. Pour over the onions in the pan and bring to a boil for a few seconds on low heat.

Shred the cooked fish into a 20x30cm Pyrex dish. Keep a few fish pieces on the side. Pour the tahini sauce over the fish. Add the pieces of fish left on the side on top of the tahini sauce and the pine nuts.

In an oven that has been pre-heated at 180 degrees, put the Pyrex and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pine nuts take color.

Once out of the oven sprinkle the top with parsley and serve.

Additional Information

If served hot, TAJEN can be eaten with rice. At room temperature it can be a buffet dish eaten as an accompaniment to other dishes like a baked fish. I like to eat TAJEN at room temperature with deep fried pita bread and a green salad.