Saganaki

Etymology

The dishes are named for the frying pan in which they are prepared, called a saganaki, which is a diminutive of sagani, a frying pan with two handles, which comes from the Turkish word sahan 'copper dish'.

Description

The cheese used in cheese saganaki is usually graviera, kefalograviera, halloumi, kasseri, kefalotyri, or sheep's milk feta cheese. Regional variations include the use of formaela cheese in Arachova, halloumi in Cyprus, and vlahotiri in Metsovo. The cheese is melted in a small frying pan until it is bubbling and generally served with lemon juice and pepper. It is eaten with bread.

Other dishes cooked in a saganaki pan include shrimp saganaki (Greek: γαρίδες σαγανάκι, garídes saganáki), and mussels saganaki (Greek: μύδια σαγανάκι, mýdia saganáki), which are typically feta-based and include a spicy tomato sauce.

North American serving style

In many United States and Canadian restaurants, after being fried, the saganaki cheese is flambéed at the table (sometimes with a shout of "opa!"), and the flames then usually extinguished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This is called "flaming saganaki" and apparently originated in 1968 at The Parthenon restaurant in Chicago's Greektown, based on the suggestion of a customer to owner Chris Liakouras.

Similar dishes

In Egypt, جبنة مقلية (gibnah maqlyah; literally "fried cheese") prepared in the same fashion is a common appetizer and seen as a specialty of Alexandria.