My big fat cheese platter: A tour of Hellenic cheeses at Greek Taverna

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on May 11, 2011 at 5:53 PM, updated May 11, 2011 at 6:01 PM
greek-taverna-saganaki.JPGGreek Tavern's Saganaki Manitaria features kefalograviera over sauteed portobello mushrooms and tomato sauce.

At Greek restaurants, I used to always resist the saganaki, the fried cheese appetizer so named for the petite pan in which it is seared, a prejudice, perhaps, left over from far too many midnight mozzarella sticks at my local diner growing up.

Then Peter Hajiyerou, the owner of the upscale Greek Taverna chain in Montclair, Edgewater and Glen Rock, served up his version -- a thick slice of kefalograviera, an aged white sheep's milk cheese, lightly coated with extra-virgin olive oil and flour, pan-seared and served with wedges of lemon. ("Two lemons, in case one is not enough," jokes Hajiyerou.) It's salty and sour and nutty-sweet all in one bite, light and creamy and utterly delicious.

To most people, Greek cheese means one thing: feta, even though much of the cheese available in the United States is mass produced in factories in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

A connoisseur will tell you that those cheeses bear only a passing resemblance to the feta aged in wooden barrels in the small, family-run cheese concerns scattered throughout Greece, where, as Diane Kochilas writes in her 2001 book, "The Glorious Foods of Greece," balls of whey are strung from red and green ribbons from the rafters and salt cracks beneath your feet.

Feta, made from sheep's and goat's milk, is used in many Greek staples, most notably the classic Greek salad and spanakopita, or spinach pie. But there is a world of Greek cheese beyond feta, many available at well-stocked cheese counters or in Mediterranean markets. (There are many more available in Greece, of course, but even there, you might have problem finding them. As Kochilas notes, you kind of have to befriend a shepherd or two.)

Some of these cheeses are not easy to love. If you've tasted the suddenly ubiquitous Greek yogurt, you know to expect a certain tanginess. The Greeks do not shy away from bold, bright flavors -- hence the lemons and olives, the unyielding saltiness of taramasalata, the overwhelming licorice-ness of ouzo -- and that may take some getting used to for those accustomed to mild, unassuming cheeses.

Hajiyerou starts his tour of Greek cheeses with graviera and kefalograviera, semi-hard cheeses made from sheep's milk (sometimes mixed with goat's milk). Graviera is a delicious table cheese and is often served alongside stuffed grape leaves, olives and hummus in a cold appetizer spread. Kefalograviera, which is younger than graviera, is a bit more assertive in taste and lends itself well to cooked dishes.

In addition to the saganaki, Hajiyerou also melts kefalograviera over sautéed portobello mushrooms and a very simple tomato sauce, adding a richness and depth to what otherwise could be a bland vegetarian appetizer.

greek-taverna-peter-halloumi.JPGPeter Hajiyerou, the owner of Greek Taverna, grills halloumi, a sheep's and goat's milk cheese from his native Cyprus.

Hajiyerou, a Cyprus native, is also a fan of halloumi, which comes from Cyprus but has been co-opted by Greek cooks. It's usually made from sheep's milk and is more salty than sour, with a strange rubbery texture -- one of Hajiyerou's comrades blanches at this description and offers up the less pejorative "bouncy."

Tasted fresh, it squeaks in your mouth when you chew it, and like feta, it makes an agreeable companion to watermelon. Halloumi has an absurdly high melting point: Even atop a 600-degree fire, it retains its shape and arrives at the table a white block patterned with blackened grill marks.

Kasseri, a semi-hard cheese made from sheep's milk or a combination of sheep's and goat's milk, melts well and can be used on pizza. There are also several fresh, soft ricotta-like cheeses: manouri and mizithra are often paired with honey for dessert, and anthotiro can be used in salads.

Or do what Hajiyerou does -- throw out the rule book altogether. One of his most exotic appetizers is calamari stuffed with roasted peppers and herbs and oozing four kinds of cheeses: feta, kefalograviera, anthotiro and halloumi. It's as good a reason as any to cry, opa!