Tangy feta cheese melting inside an extra crispy coating and finished with a touch of lemon! A super quick and easy Greek feta saganaki recipe to impress your guests and family, ready in less than 10 minutes!
What is Greek Saganaki
“Saganaki” refers to various Greek appetizers, which are prepared in a small, two handled heavy bottomed frying pan, itself called a saganaki or sagani. The most common traditional Greek recipes cooked in that kind of pan include cheese saganaki, mussels saganaki and shrimp saganaki.
How to make traditional Greek feta Saganaki (pan fried feta)
For this feta saganaki recipe you will need just a few ingredients that you already have in your kitchen.
For coating the feta saganaki I am using a very simple egg and flour coating. Just dip the feta cheese inside the beaten egg and then roll into the four. Make sure the feta cheese is coated entirely with the egg and flour.
Tip: You could season the flour with pepper and with spices you fancy, like paprika for that extra kick.
To pan fry feta saganaki you will need some olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and a bit more. What we are looking for is a nice extra crispy crust and a soft slightly melty interior. Don’t forget to flip the feta saganaki over using a slotted spatula. Just be careful not to break it!!
What feta to use for your Feta Saganaki?
There are many varieties of Feta available to buy at your local supermarket. My personal favourite is a mild, creamy feta, made from 100% sheep’s milk, as its the most traditional one. Plus it is are higher in fat than your typical cow’s or goat’s milk, making it softer and creamier. Also when pan fried, it turns deliciously soft and melty on the inside!
If you can’t find feta cheese made from pure sheep’s milk, then a blend of sheep and goat milk should be your second choice as it still retains most of that delicious creaminess without being a bit rubbery, like the cow’s milk variety can be.
How to finish and serve your Feta Saganaki?
There are two ways to finish your Feta Saganaki – one is with good squeeze of lemon or alternatively with a drizzle of honey and sprinkled with some sesame seeds.
Serving your Feta Saganaki with lemon cuts through the greasiness of the oil and makes your Saganaki more refreshing to the taste. But on the other hand, the saltiness of the feta is a perfect match to the sweetness of honey and they complement each other beautifully.
I love both so much that I cannot decide which one I prefer the most so I’ll leave it up to you to pick the one you like best!
How to Serve Feta Saganaki
Greek Feta Saganaki (pan fried feta) is best served hot while still melty on the inside. Other appetizers that you can serve alongside it are:
And of course a green leafy salad or Greek salad is ideal to cut out the richness. Serve your feta saganaki right away while it is still hot with a squeeze of a lemon on top and some crusty bread aside! Enjoy!!
Tangy feta cheese melting inside an extra crispy coating and finished with a touch of lemon! A super quick and easy Greek feta saganaki recipe to impress your guests and family, ready in less than 10 minutes!
Ingredients
Scale
a block of feta cheese ideally made from 100% sheep’s milk (approx. 190g/ 6.5 oz.)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
40g flour, enough to coat the feta cheese (1.5 oz.)
olive oil for frying
1 lemon
Alternatively, a tablespoon of honey and sesame seeds
To prepare this super easy feta saganaki, start by cutting the feta cheese into 1 block approx. 2cm or 1 inch thick.
Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it with a fork.
In another bowl add the flour and the pepper and using a spoon mix to combine.
Dip the feta cheese into the whisked egg and then roll into the flour. You want the feta cheese entirely coated with flour.
Pour your oil to the frying pan until it is about 1 cm / 0.5 inch full.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it has reached 180C/350F. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, drip a drop of the egg in the pan. If it sizzles immediately your oil is about the right temperature.
Fry the feta until nicely coloured. Use a slotted spoon to flip the feta saganaki over carefully, so that it is nicely coloured on both sides. (about 2 minutes each side)
When done, place on some kitchen paper to absorb the extra oil.
Squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon on top (or the honey and sesame seeds) and serve your feta saganaki while still warm!
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