Food and Drink for Dine-In or Takeout at Simply Greek (Up to 40% Off)
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Enjoy delicious Greek dishes such as chicken souvlaki, grilled lamb chops, gyros, saganaki, and more
Choice of:
- $20 value for two, valid for dine-in only
- $20 worth of takeout.
- See the menu.
Saganaki: Feeling the Heat
Flaming cheese isn’t a modern creation, but a holdover potentially stemming from ancient Greece. Learn how the dish ended up with so many centuries’ worth of fans.
The word “saganaki” typically conjures up images of Greek cheeses bursting into flames at the hands of a fearless waiter at tableside. However, the term actually refers to something less inherently dramatic: the pan. Saganaki dishes earn their name because they are cooked in relatively shallow, double-handled sagani pans, which look similar to other cultures’ small skillets or paella pans. Chefs can layer sliced cheese, shrimp, and vegetables, or any number of ingredients into these stainless-steel or cast-iron vessels before either cooking them in the oven or on the stovetop.
When describing the ancient appeal of saganaki, James Beard Award–winning food author Clifford A. Wright noted that one of the earliest references to “melted cheese sizzling” stemmed from Greece in the second or third century AD, establishing a rough timeline for the technique’s invention. Hundreds of years later, the most popular form of saganaki cuisine likely remains Greek-style flaming cheese, whose preparation involves glazing the pan with brandy, flambéing the cheese tableside, and extinguishing the fire with a splash of lemon juice.
Enjoy delicious Greek dishes such as chicken souvlaki, grilled lamb chops, gyros, saganaki, and more
Choice of:
- $20 value for two, valid for dine-in only
- $20 worth of takeout.
- See the menu.
Saganaki: Feeling the Heat
Flaming cheese isn’t a modern creation, but a holdover potentially stemming from ancient Greece. Learn how the dish ended up with so many centuries’ worth of fans.
The word “saganaki” typically conjures up images of Greek cheeses bursting into flames at the hands of a fearless waiter at tableside. However, the term actually refers to something less inherently dramatic: the pan. Saganaki dishes earn their name because they are cooked in relatively shallow, double-handled sagani pans, which look similar to other cultures’ small skillets or paella pans. Chefs can layer sliced cheese, shrimp, and vegetables, or any number of ingredients into these stainless-steel or cast-iron vessels before either cooking them in the oven or on the stovetop.
When describing the ancient appeal of saganaki, James Beard Award–winning food author Clifford A. Wright noted that one of the earliest references to “melted cheese sizzling” stemmed from Greece in the second or third century AD, establishing a rough timeline for the technique’s invention. Hundreds of years later, the most popular form of saganaki cuisine likely remains Greek-style flaming cheese, whose preparation involves glazing the pan with brandy, flambéing the cheese tableside, and extinguishing the fire with a splash of lemon juice.