Mojama de Atún

Mojama de atún gaditana belongs to the Cádiz coast, above all Barbate: a clean tuna loin packed in sea salt, pressed, then dried until mahogany-dark, firm, and dense enough to shave into thin slices. It isn't smoked, spiced, or cooked. Salt, moving air, and tuna make it, and on an Andalusian table a few slices with green-gold olive oil and toasted almonds are enough.

Even drying decides the dish. Pack every face completely in coarse sea salt, keep the fish between 0 and 4°C, then dry it on a rack until it has lost exactly 35 percent of its starting weight. Time only points you in the right direction; the scale tells you how much water has left. Stop early and the centre stays soft and wet. Carry on too far and you have a piece of salty wood. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess.

Far from Barbate, use a thick, previously commercially frozen yellowfin loin sold for raw preparation. Yellowfin is used in the recognized Andalusian craft and gives a leaner, lighter cure than rich bluefin. A household refrigerator stands in for the ventilated drying room: it is colder and takes longer, so the aroma will be a little less developed, but the fish stays safely chilled while it dries. No hace falta haber pisado España. Keep it cold, follow the weight, and it comes out.