Feta cheese, the King of cheeses (sorry Parm), a PDO appellation product made in Greece and consisting of a combo of sheep and goat milk cheese has come of age. It’s found in many households, surely most supermarkets carry it but you want to ask/purchase Greek Feta. Why settle for an ersatz version?

The usual cheeses for making “saganaki cheese” are Kefalotyri or Kefalograviera but Feta can be pan seared as well –  with one proviso: seek a firm Feta.

Here in Toronto, we have access to many Feta brands, I find the very popular Dodonia brand to work wonderfully. It’s firm enough to hold up to the heat when pan-frying.

The coating is simply all-purpose flour that’s dunked in water and into the hot oil it goes. I love the pairing of honey and sesame seeds as it contrasts with the briny and tart flavour of Feta.

Feta Saganaki

(serves 2)

1 slab of firm Feta (Dodoni works well), about 1/5 cm thick

water

1 cup all-purpose flour

vegetable or olive oil for frying

honey

sesame seeds

lemon wedge (optional)

1. Place a small skillet on your stovetop and add about 1 cm of oil and turn the heat up to medium-high (temp of oil should be about 350F).
2. Fill a shallow bowl with water (that will contain the feta) and fill another bowl with flour.
3. Dunk your Feta slab in water then dredge in  flour and ensure all the cheese is coated in flour.
4. Once the oil is ready for frying, take the cheese out of the flour, shake off excess an carefully place in the oil.
5. Fry for a couple of minutes or until golden. Flip and fry the other side until golden.
6. Place on a paper lined plate to absorb excess oil then transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle good Greek honey, sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve immediately with some warm pita bread wedges.