In
Greek cuisine
Greek cuisine ( Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα) is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, ol ...
, 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 han ...
, the best-known being an appetizer of
fried cheese. 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
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...
of ''sagani'', a frying pan with two handles, which comes from the
Turkish word ''sahan'' 'copper dish', itself borrowed from Arabic صحن (ṣaḥn).
Description
The cheese used in ''saganaki'' is usually
graviera
Graviera ( el, γραβιέρα ) is a cheese from Greece produced in various parts of Greece, the main of which are: Crete, Lesbos, Naxos and Amfilochia. It resembles gruyère, a Swiss cheese from whose name "graviera" is derived.
Graviera is G ...
,
kefalograviera
Kefalograviera (Greek language, Greek: Κεφαλογραβιέρα) is a hard table cheese produced traditionally from sheep's milk or mixture of sheep's and goat's milk. According to the PDO filing with the EU (see below) the name applies only ...
,
halloumi
Halloumi or haloumi (, el, χαλούμι, haloúmi; tr, hellim}) is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. Its texture is described as squeaky. It has a high melting point ...
,
kasseri,
kefalotyri
Kefalotyri or kefalotiri ( el, κεφαλοτύρι, tr, talar peyniri) is a hard, salty white cheese made from sheep milk or goat's milk (or both) in Greece and Cyprus. A similar cheese Kefalograviera, also made from sheep or goat milk (or bot ...
,
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 breeds
S ...
feta
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...
cheese. Regional variations include the use of
formaela
Formaela ( el, Φορμαέλα) is a hard cheese produced exclusively in Arachova, Greece. It is famous throughout Greece and has been registered in the European Union as a protected designation of origin since 1996.
Formaela is prepared mainl ...
cheese in
Arachova
Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. ...
,
halloumi
Halloumi or haloumi (, el, χαλούμι, haloúmi; tr, hellim}) is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. Its texture is described as squeaky. It has a high melting point ...
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 re ...
. The cheese is melted in a small frying pan until it is bubbling and generally served with
lemon juice
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
and pepper. It is eaten with
bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
.
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
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...
-based and include a spicy
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
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!"), after which the flames usually are extinguished with a squeeze of
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
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
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Istanb ...
,
[The Parthenon: History](_blank)
/ref> based on the suggestion of a customer.
See also
* Leipäjuusto
Leipäjuusto (bread cheese) or juustoleipä ( fit, kahvijuusto; sv, kaffeost or ''brödost''), also known in the United States as Finnish squeaky cheese, is a Finnish fresh cheese traditionally made from cow's beestings, rich milk from a cow tha ...
* List of hors d'oeuvre
This is a list of notable hors d'oeuvre, also referred to as appetisers or starters, which may be served either hot or cold. They are food items served before the main courses of a meal, and are also sometimes served at the dinner table as a part ...
* List of Greek dishes
* Saganaki cheese
* Smažený sýr
References
{{Cheese dishes
Greek cuisine
Appetizers
Cheese dishes
Flambéed foods
Articles containing video clips