“Opa!”

https://discuss.tchncs.de/pictrs/image/3403f311-0e2b-4c45-b28a-379173d646a4.jpeg?format=jpg

First time making saganaki. Halloumi cheese pan-fried in ghee, finished with a squeeze of lemon while in the pan.

48 points · 7 comments · view on lemmy.world

7 Comments

tipech@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Looks awesome, great job!

As a sidenote, you'd never ever see whole "Opa!" thing in Greece, it was just an invention of Greek restaurant owners in US to attract tourists (much like fortune cookies). I know I should just be dismissing it as harmless, but for some reason it always annoys me when I see it :D

Once again though, great job! It looks absolutely delicious and I bet it was super tasty.

ourob@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 2y

That does not surprise me lol. Made my wife’s day, though! She loves saganaki, and we can’t get it at any restaurant within at least 2 hours of us.

And yes, it was delicious. Tomorrow I’m going to have to make homemade pita to go with it. The pack I picked up at the store was very blah.

Mr_Blott@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (2 replies)

I go to Greece on hols every other year and I've no idea what you're talking about 😂 What's opa?

tipech@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

Yeah, that's exactly my point, not a thing in Greece 😄

In North American Greek restaurants they have this little show/ceremony thing where during serving a plate of saghanaki they light it on fire (flambé-style) and shout "Opa!". It's meant to look like a traditional Greek thing (no doubt influenced by movies like Zorba the Greek, that movie is responsible for so many cultural inaccuracies).

throw4w4y5@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y
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FrigidAphelion@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)
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ourob@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 2y

I haven’t seen it done that way, only the squeeze of lemon at the end.

AA5B@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Cool, is it really that simple? I bought Halloumi on impulse but have no idea what to do with it

ourob@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 2y

Pretty much, yeah. You can also grill halloumi, which is what I want to try next.