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Three pieces of saganaki, greek fried cheese with arugula leaves and chutney on a plate.
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Greek Fried Cheese Saganaki

This Greek saganaki with melted warm gruyere cheese and topped with sweet and spicy tomato red pepper chutney is ready in only 45 minutes!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Greek
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 330kcal

Equipment

  • Skillet for frying
  • Medium saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb block of Gruyere cheese cut in ½ inch thick pieces
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 egg whites beaten

For the chutney

  • cups white wine vinegar
  • cups brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 2 bell peppers diced. Can be red, orange, or yellow.
  • cups tomatoes diced
  • 2 habanero peppers seeded and diced fine (removing seeds reduces heat)
  • 1 sweet onion medium size, peeled and diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons rum optional

For serving

  • 1 cup arugula leaves

For frying the cheese

  • 2-3 tablespoons light olive oil or a neutral vegetable oil

Instructions

Make the chutney

  • Dice the tomatoes, bell peppers, and sweet onion.
  • Place the diced bell peppers, tomatoes, habanero peppers, and onion in a large pot. Add the minced ginger, cumin, ground cloves, stir gently to combine.
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. After it has come to a boil, put the lid on but keep it ajar with a few inches of opening for the steam to escape. Allow it to boil quite rapidly for about 30 minutes. Don't stir.
  • After 30 minutes, add the molasses and rum, and stir to combine.
    Let chutney boil uncovered for 5 to 15 minutes, or as long as the liquid has reduced to the desired level. Remove from heat and set aside.

Fry the cheese

  • Put the flour, egg whites, and bread crumbs separately in 3 shallow dishes. Dip each piece of cheese into the flour, then shake off the excess.
    Next, run the cheese through the egg white to coat it lightly.
    Finally, lay the cheese in the bread crumbs, turn it over and press it into the breading to coat—Lay the piece on parchment paper while you prepare the rest of the pieces.
  • Heat a skillet over medium to high heat.  Add two tablespoons of light olive oil. Add the breaded gruyere and fry evenly on all sides until it gets a nice golden color for about 1 minute on each side.

Serving suggestion

  • On a plate, serve one generous of the chutney, set 1 piece of the saganaki on top, and add some arugula leaves.

Notes

  • It is advisable to make the chutney first and follow with the fried cheese. Saganaki cheese should be served immediately, it is best when consumed almost right out of the skillet!
  • You can serve fried cheese on its own, without the chutney. Add a couple of lemon wedges on the plate to drizle lemon juice right before you take a bite!
  • Replace the brown sugar with regular white sugar. I have not tried stevia or coconut sugar, so I don't recommend it.
  • Habanero peppers, scotch bonnet pepper, and rocotillo pepper are excellent in this recipe.
  •  You can substitute grated fresh ginger with ground ginger.
  • For frying, I prefer using light olive oil like this Bertolli. Of course, you can use canola oil or your go-to vegetable oil instead.
 
Nutritional Info – Please remember that the nutritional information provided is only an estimate and can vary based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 1251IU | Vitamin C: 48mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 3mg