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. It is commonly flambéed in North America.
Etymology
Look up saganaki in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The dishes are named for the frying pan in which they are prepared, called a σαγανάκι (saganáki), which is a diminutive of σαγάνι (sagáni), a frying pan with two handles, which comes from the Turkish word sahan'copper dish',[1][2] itself borrowed from Arabic صحن (ṣaḥn).
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]
North American serving style
Saganaki, lit on fire, at the Parthenon Restaurant in Greektown, Chicago
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!"[4]), after which the flames usually are extinguished with a squeeze of 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]
^Zeldes, Leah A (2002-09-30). "How to Eat Like a Chicagoan". Chicago's Restaurant Guide. Chicago's Restaurant Guide. Archived from the original on 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2002-09-30.
