This favorite appetizer of flaming cheese is standard at traditional Greek restaurants, but the invention of “flaming saganaki” wasn’t in Greece, but at The Parthenon restaurant in Chicago, where owner Chris Liakouras says came up with the idea in 1968. We checked, and it’s still on the menu – “of course it is,” asserts the woman who answers the phone, “it was invented here!”

PHOTO CREDIT: TAMMY GREEN VIA WIKIPEDIA

In Greek, a sagani is a two-handled pan or dish used when cooking saganaki dishes that take their name from the pan. If you ordered saganaki in Greece, you likely would get a dish such as shrimp with feta and tomatoes. But in the U.S., it’s synonymous with flaming cheese.

The Chicago Parthenon’s version of saganaki is made with kasseri cheese, but there is spirited debate about the best cheese to make the appetizer.  At Greek Flame Taverna in Winter Park, the Chrissanthidis family prefers vlahotiri. The folks at Taverna Opa at Pointe Orlando use keflotyri.  Others recommend haloumi.   

“Haloumi holds the temperature best,” says Alberto Dunoyer, the cheesemonger at Whole Foods in Winter Park. The shop carries haloumi and kasseri, but he recommends haloumi because it has more moisture and does not melt. 

For most palates, there’s not a discernable difference in taste. All are semi-hard with varying degrees of saltiness.

Forget the flaming act, Dumoyer offer this easy method to make saganaki: in a skillet over medium-high heat, add extra virgin olive oil and heat until very hot but not smoking. Slice haloumi in to 1/2-inch-thick slices and pan-fry the cheese in the olive oil for about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. That’s it. He serves it with good toasty bread and tapenade, so the cheese is star of the show.  For a bigger meal, Dumoyer recommends adding grilled lamb kabobs. 

The whole tableside flaming is, well, just an American show. At Greek Flame Taverna, the vlahotiri is dipped in lemon juice, dredged in flour, then grilled on a flat surface until it melts. Next it’s flamed tableside with ouzo, the popular Greek liquor flavored with anise, then doused with lemon juice.  To be authentic, yell “OPA!” as the cheese flames – a Greek word that doesn’t translate, it’s just an exclamation of joy.   

If you want to make saganaki at home, try Emeril Lagasse’s recipe on foodnetwork.com. He prefers kasseri. 

On one point, everyone agrees: whatever you do, don’t use feta.

About the writer

Pam Brandon is a published author and 35-year veteran of news and feature reporting, based in Winter Park, Fla. In 1995, she started her own company, Pam Brandon Editorial Services.Brandon is a food columnist for The Orlando Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post and writes about Central Florida dining for Orlando Home & Leisure magazine and for gayot.com. She is co-author of “Culinary Confessions of the PTA Divas” cookbook published by Menasha Ridge Press and has written several books for Disney Publishing, including the recently released “Delicious Disney Desserts,” and the 2008 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival cookbook. Other Disney books include “Delicious Disney,” “Cooking With Mickey,” “Cooking With Mickey and the Disney Chefs,” “One Day at Disney” and “Marking the Millennium.” She also is the author of “The Unofficial Guide to Florida” and “The Unofficial Guide to Florida With Kids,” both published by Wiley Publishing Inc., and a consultant to other guidebooks including Birnbaum’s official Disney guides.