License to Grill…

License to Grill…

Hello Cheese Enthusiast!

One of the best parts of summer for me is the ability to grill as often as I want…whether it’s meats, seafood, or cheese.  I think its part being outside, part eating healthier, and part trying new recipes and items that I didn’t get to try last year. 

Just in case you may have may have missed my July 13th post on grilling, this post could easily be considered “Part II”…

In the last addition I covered Halloumi, Paneer, and “Bread Cheeses.” All of these were cooked on the stove, but for today’s post, I moved outside to the grill.

Today’s post covers one cheese, prepared three different ways.

Let’s meet the stars of today’s post - Galbani® Pre-Sliced Grilling Cheeses. 

These 8 oz. little blocks are pre-sliced (into 5 little sticks) and ready to cook.

This cheese has two recipes on the packaging, so I decided to try them both.

Fried – Although this could have easily been cooked indoors…why?...especially when I can enjoy the outdoors! I just used a well-seasoned, cast iron skillet and heated it over medium heat, then added one tablespoon of good quality extra virgin olive oil and fried for three to four minutes on either side. Although the recipe didn’t call for it, I sprinkled some coarse kosher salt over the top and enjoyed it warm (see top photo). Wow!...So good!

Grilled – Okay, I was skeptical on this one…I mean, I knew that this cheese could withstand a lot of heat without much melting, but I had never heard of placing it directly on the grill surface! The instructions have you heat the grill to 450-500ºF, brush both the grill surface and the cheese with a good quality olive oil, then place them on the grill for 2 minutes per side (keeping the lid closed to keep the heat in. Once again I sprinkled some kosher salt at the end for added flavor. Loved it!...The crispy exterior and the slightly melted interior were delicious!

These Grilling Cheeses come in two flavors – Spicy Pepper and Original. Both have a taste like they are in the Mozzarella (Pasta filata) family. These cheeses slightly melt due to their low acidity and high calcium content (similar to several other cheeses from the Mediterranean region). 

I found these to be great appetizers, but also feel that they could be great to grill as a meat substitute, either served alone, or on top of a salad.

Cartoon courtesy of Jumble™

This third recipe is really an appetizer. Known as Saganaki; it is Greek in origin, but since these grilling cheeses had the same consistency as Kasseri Cheese, I felt that the “original” flavor would be best for this recipe.

Not familiar with Saganaki?...Don’t worry because I wasn’t either until my mom who loves puzzles, found this cartoon as part of her Jumble (word scramble) puzzle and shared it with me…this started me researching the dish and I have been hanging on to the recipe just waiting for the perfect story idea.

So for this recipe I did not break the cheese apart into “sticks” (as previously mentioned), instead leaving it in the full 8 oz. block. The cheese is rinsed with water, then dredged in flour and fried in several table spoons of extra virgin olive oil on my same well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Sure, I could have cooked it inside, but since I was in a “grilling” mood, I prepared this on the grill (you will understand why better in a minute).

Much like the first grilling recipe, it is grilled for several minutes on each side until golden brown. Once done, I removed it from the heat and poured over two tbsp. of a good quality Brandy and lit it. At this point all of my guests yelled “OPA!!” (an emotional expression shouted frequently during celebrations such as weddings or traditional dancing in the Greek culture) and after a minute the alcohol burns down and fresh lemon juice is squeezed over it to add flavor and to douse the flames. This is left in the pan and sprinkled with Italian parsley and a dash of kosher salt.

It is served right out of the pan, much like a fondue on fresh slices of French bread. You can get the whole recipe here.

My many thanks to my friend Paul who works with me at Lactalis, producers of Galbani®…He had read my last grilling post and thought I should try this product out for myself.

So what’s that answer to the Jumble™ puzzle?......Well much like grilling these cheeses, they are not just a “Flash in the Pan” as cheese has been served like this in Greece, Turkey, and much of the Middle East for ages.

Until next week…Enjoy!...OPA!!

Trevor