| Saganaki | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Course: | Hors d'oeuvre |
| Variations: | Many |
In Greek cuisine, saganaki (el|σαγανάκι) is any one of a variety of dishes prepared in a small frying pan, the best-known being an appetizer of fried cheese. It is commonly flambéed in North America.
The dishes are named for the frying pan in which they are prepared, called a Greek, Modern (1453-);: σαγανάκι, which is a diminutive of Greek, Modern (1453-);: σαγάνι, a frying pan with two handles, which comes from the Turkish word Turkish: sahan,[1] [2] itself borrowed from Arabic Arabic: صحن .
The cheese used in saganaki is usually graviera, kefalograviera, halloumi, kasseri,[3] 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 (el|γαρίδες σαγανάκι,), and mussels saganaki (el|μύδια σαγανάκι,), which are typically feta-based and include a spicy tomato sauce.
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!"[4]), 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's Greektown,[5] [6] [7] [8] based on the suggestion of a customer.[9]