Greek Recipes with May Lerios: Saganaki

For 3 people

(Click on the thumbnail for a larger photo)

• 3/4 lb of kefalograviera cheese.

That's the hardest ingredient to find; you'll have to look at groceries that import Mediterranean food. If you have a hard time finding it, you can use instead

• kasseri,

• kashkaval, or

• manouri.

Slice the cheese so that slices have the largest possible surface area and a thickness of 1/3 in. If you cut the cheese too thick, it won't melt all the way through; if it's too thin, it will turn into a liquid before you know it instead of turning hot and soft. It's OK if you end up having multiple pieces.

Whip very well, and pour on a plate

• one egg.

Dip the cheese into the egg (all sides) until a nice layer of the egg has gotten attached to the cheese surface. Pour onto the cheese's surface

• white flour (approx. 1 cup).

The flour will stick onto the egg, and you should make sure there is a nice even layer of flour all around.

In a frying pan, heat up until it's very hot

• 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Then, put in the floured cheese. The flour and egg will fry, forming a golden crust (takes about 2 minutes). Flip it over, so that the other side gets fried, too. Serve hot, with

• French bread, and

• 1 lemon or some lemon juice (to be poured onto the saganaki for those who enjoy the sweet/sour combo of cheese and lemon).

You typically serve saganaki in the very same pan that you cooked it in (to keep the cheese melted inside the golden crust).