In Greek cuisine, saganaki (Greek σαγανάκι) is any one of a variety of dishes prepared in a small frying pan, the best-known being an appetizer of fried cheese.
![]() | |
Course | Hors d'oeuvre |
---|---|
Place of origin | Greece |
Variations | Many |
|
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',[1][2] itself borrowed from Arabic صحن (ṣaḥn).
The cheese used in saganaki is usually graviera, kefalograviera, halloumi, kasseri,[3] kefalotyri,[3] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
In many United States and Canadian restaurants, after being fried, the saganaki cheese is flambéed at the table (sometimes with a shout of "opa!"[4]), 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,[5][6][7][8] based on the suggestion of a customer.[9]