In
Greek cuisine, saganaki (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
σαγανάκι) is any one of a variety of dishes prepared in a small
frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...
, the best-known being an appetizer of
fried cheese
Fried cheese is a dish of cheese that is fried in oil. Fried cheese can be dipped in a batter before frying, and can be pan-fried or deep fried. It can be served as an appetizer or a snack. Fried cheese is a common food in Brazil and the Dominic ...
. It is commonly
flambéed in North America.
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
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
word ''sahan'' 'copper dish', itself borrowed from Arabic صحن (ṣaḥn).
Description
The cheese used in ''saganaki'' is usually
graviera,
kefalograviera,
halloumi,
kasseri,
,
or
sheep's milk
Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France).
Sheep br ...
feta cheese. Regional variations include the use of
formaela cheese in
Arachova,
halloumi in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, and vlahotiri in
Metsovo
Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east.
The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large ...
. 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'' ( el, γαρίδες σαγανάκι, ''garídes saganáki''), and ''mussels saganaki'' ( el, μύδια σαγανάκι, ''mýdia saganáki''), which are typically
feta-based and include a spicy
tomato sauce.
North American serving style
In many Greek restaurants in the United States and Canada, after the saganaki cheese is fried, it is
flambéed at table (often with a shout of "
opa!
''Opa!'' is a 2005 film directed by Udayan Prasad and starring Matthew Modine.
It was shot in Greece.
Plot
Cast
*Matthew Modine as Eric
*Richard Griffiths as Tierney
* Alki David as Spyros Kakogiannis
*Agni Scott as Katerina
*Panayota Aravant ...
"), after which the flames usually are extinguished with a squeeze of
lemon juice. This is called "flaming saganaki" and apparently originated in 1968 at the Parthenon restaurant in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's
Greektown,
[The Parthenon: History](_blank)
/ref> based on the suggestion of a customer.
See also
* Leipäjuusto
* List of hors d'oeuvre
* List of Greek dishes
* Saganaki cheese
* Smažený sýr
References
{{Cheese dishes
Greek cuisine
Appetizers
Cheese dishes
Flambéed foods
Articles containing video clips