OPA!

Ever see this flaming dish at a Greek taverna? Ever hear the Greek waiter shout OPA? This next dish is inspired by the many Greek restaurants, eateries and tavernas that serve up this style of fried cheese to a clientele that never ceases to tire of this ritual.

Whoever said presentation never mattered to a dish must have never opened a Greek restaurant. I know of non-Greeks who whenever they go for Greek, they always order the "Flaming Saganaki" dish.

Saganaki is most commonly know as the appetizer of fried cheese. The usual cheese that's used is a Kefalograviera, which is a semi-salty cheese that's fried, flambeed with Ouzo or Metaxa brandy then doused with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Saganaki can come in varied forms as a dish. The word saganaki is a diminutive of sagani, a frying pan with two handles. The Turks call it a sahan.

When your waiter lights up the Saganaki, you're surely going to hear a robust OPA! It (OPA) literally means "to jump" and it's used in many ways to say "bravo", "WoW", "all right" or in today's lingo, "You Go"!

When a Greek says OPA, they are usually dispensing complements, admiring your zest for life, your dancing or drinking prowess or showing their admiration of a performance.

I'm taking a departure from usual cheese for Saganaki and I'm using a Cypriot Halloumi cheese. It's a firm, slightly salty cheese, it's buttery and, it's one of my favourite of the Greek cheeses.

Before you attempt some serious harm on yourself, always pour your liquor of choice into a shot glass and then empty it into the vessel you're using for a flambe. NEVER pour hard liquor from the bottle into the flambe vessel...the flame can travel all the way up into the bottle and cause your very own kitchen nightmare.

Now that we're beyond living dangerously in the kitchen, WoW your house guests and light up the Saganaki, and get everyone to shout out, OPA!!!!!!!!!!!

Fried Saganaki With Halloumi

1-2 slices of Halloumi cheese
egg wash
all purpose flour
sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. olive oil
a shot of Ouzo or brandy
juice of 1/4 of a lemon

1. Organize 3 plates for 1) dredging your cheese in flour; 2) coating the cheese in eggwash ; 3) coating the cheese in sesame seeds.
2. Slice your cheese and coat in flour, then egg wash and finally coat it in sesame seeds.
3. Place your fry pan (Saganaki) on medium-high neat and add your olive oil. Drop a sesame seed to see if the oil is hot enough (if the seeds crackles, you're ready for frying).
4. Fry your cheese for 2 minutes and then flip to fry on the other side for just over a minute.
5. Take the Saganaki off the heat and pour in your shot of liquor and ignite the alcohol.
6. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and serve immediately with toasted pitas or crusty bread.