Saganaki

Saganaki is a highly popular Greek appetizer where various vegetables, meats, or seafood such as shrimp or mussels are wrapped in cheese, then pan-fried or seared. The cheese can also be prepared on its own, without any accompaniments.

It is then pan-seared until it develops its distinctive golden crust, and served in the so-called sagani, a small, two-handled pan in which it was fried. In the past, the word saganaki referred to a method of spicing up the local cheese by Greek peasants, who would pan-fry different varieties of cheese such as feta, kashkaval or manori. While regional variations of the dish include the use of formaela cheese in Arachova and halloumi in Cyprus, the cheese used in a typical Greek saganaki is usually graviera, kefalograviera, kasseri, kefalotyri, sheep's milk feta or any other firm cheese that melts well without losing its shape. Saganaki is sometimes enlivened by a splash of traditional Greek spirits like Metaxa brandy or Ouzo, an anise-flavored aperitif.

Outside of Greece, particularly in the US, saganaki is typically flambéed at the table, and this flaming culinary showmanship is a tradition which reportedly first started in Chicago's Greektown. When the lighter comes out to ignite the pan, one can often hear "Opa!", the Greek expression for joy. After cheering, the diners usually cut off chunks of cheese that are crispy on the outside and soft and runny on the inside, and then sprinkle their saganaki with lemon juice, savoring it with some freshly baked pita bread.