“Saganaki” in greek is a delicious piece of hard cheese (be it gruyere, kefalotyri or kefalograviera), fried for a few minutes in olive oil, that keeps its outside surface crispy and its centre softer. If served alone, as a classical meze, it can be drizzled with a little bit if lemon to give it a fresher taste since these cheeses can be quite salty.
The following recipe , however, is a completely personal attempt to combine this traditional meze with a fried egg in the same frying pan and upgrade it to a tasty lunch! Of course there is no lemon used here.
Greek saganaki with a fried egg in a hole!
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
• 4 slices hard tasty cheese (such as kefalograviera or kefalotiri), 2 cm/0.78 inches thick
• 4 eggs
• olive oil for frying
• flour for coating the cheese
• a little parsley
• pepper
Preparation:
Wash and finely chop the parsley, making sure to squeeze it well in a tea towel.
Mix the parsley with the flour.
Using a small coffee cup or a round cookie cutter cut out a hole in the middle of the cheese slice.
Wet the slices of cheese, shake off excess water and cover with the flour and parsley mixture.
Place the floured cheese slices in the freezer for a few minutes so the flour sticks better.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan (making sure it doesn’t sizzle), fry the cheese on both sides (over a high heat) for a couple of minutes (until starting to crisp) and then break an egg in the hole in the middle.
Lower the intensity of the heat and fry until the cheese is golden brown. Keep spooning some of the hot oil over the egg so it cooks faster.
Serve with freshly baked bread.
(This recipe was published in the monthly magazine SALT AND PEPPER/ALATI KAI PIPPERI and it was presented on Eleni Psychouli’s show on TV, CHEF ON AIR.)
