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Saganaki Cheese

Print Recipe
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Greek

Ingredients
  

  • 4 oz block of hard cheese, 1/2" - 3/4" (1 - 2 cm thick) See #1 below
  • 1 tbsp water See #2 below
  • 3-4 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp flammable alcohol (brandy at room temp is traditional)
  • 2 wedges lemon
  • 1-2 tsp fresh chopped parsley (1 tsp dried also works)

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat. This should be a very non-stick pan. See #3 below
  • Wet the cheese with water.
  • Press all sides of the cheese into the flour, and tap off any excess.
  • Gently place the cheese on the oil and fry until the bottom has a crust and is golden brown. This should be around 2 minutes.
  • Flip and fry until the bottom is golden brown, around 60 seconds, could be up to 2 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from heat, put it on a damp cloth on a temperature-safe tray, bring it over to your guests. Alternatively, you can move the cheese to a temperature-safe tray or plate.
  • Pour the alcohol on top, light it with a long match.
  • At this point, everyone should shout OPA! or it won't taste right.
  • Squeeze a lemon wedge over the cheese to extinguish the flame (blow it out if needed). See #4
  • Garnish with the parsley, place a lemon wedge on the side, and enjoy.

Notes

    1. Best cheese to use - Halloumi, kefalotyri, kefalograviera, graviera, kasseri, or sheep's milk feta. If you're using feta, you can probably skip adding water to help the breading stick since feta's normally packed in brine. If using egg in the batter, pat the cheese dry with paper towel. Feta usually needs to be cut thicker because it's prone to crumbling. I prefer making multiple smaller pieces than one large piece, because sharing after the cheese has melted is awkward, and 1-2 bites is all anyone should be having as an appetizer.
    2. You can whisk up an egg and dip the dried cheese before battering in the flour. Make sure to shake off any excess egg. You can also spice up the breading with parmesan cheese (2 tbsp flour and parmesan cheese) and/or panko  (2 tbsp) and/or pepper (1/2 tsp), but herbs might burn so I don't recommend adding anything else. 
    3. Some recipes call for a cast-iron pan, but these need very good seasoning to prevent the cheese from sticking, so I recommend a non-stick pan the first few times you make this.
    4. You can always plate the cheese, squeeze lemon on it before bringing it out to your guests, pour the alcohol, and set it on fire. Group Opa! is still mandatory, and then blow out the flames.