- Prep Time: 5 min.
- Cook time: 7 min.
- Yield: 2–4 servings
About Saganaki Flambé
For many years, saganaki has been a favorite appetizer in the vast array of Greek mezes and taverna delights. Lore has it that it was first flambéed in 1968 at a Greek restaurant in Chicago, The Parthenon, by chef Chris Leokoros, to delight and entertain diners with a savory flash of Cognac and an “Opa.”.
Saganaki, derived from the Turkish word “sahan,” meaning copper dish, may be made with a choice of several hard Greek cheeses, such as Graviera, Kaseri, or Kefalotiri.
I love all of these salty cheeses. Kaseri is commonly found at many grocery chains. Graviera, popular in Crete, and Kefalotiri are harder to find outside of gourmet cheese boutiques.
The flambé technique allows the amino acids in the cheese and the reducing sugars to create the browning and crunch of the outside while delivering a gooey, melted heaven of taste on the inside, with which to smear over pita or pita chips.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Graviera cheese, whole
- 1/2 cup white all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy
- 1 teaspoon ouzo
- 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Dredge the block of cheese in the flour; no added seasonings are necessary. Shake off the excess flour.
- In a very hot cast-iron skillet, melt the butter. Brown the cheese on both sides of the slab. Add the cognac and ouzo, and light the flambé.
- Remove from the heat, squirt the lemon juice over the saganaki, and serve immediately with pita triangles.
Enjoy with a dram of ouzo or a glass of retsina. Opa!
