Greek Graviera cheese "saganaki" with cherry tomatoes sauce in the skillet

Delicious meze or first dish to enjoy now the tomatoes are still in their prime! The glorious "saganaki" dish in a bit different version that the classic recipe is so luscious! Graviera cheese, which is less salty than other Greek cheeses normally used for this recipe, in combination with the cherry tomatoes give such a delicious result! The two of them suit each other perfectly! Serve directly from the skillet so not to lose any tasty juices of the sauce which has a nice sweet and sour taste in a great balance with the rest of the ingredients. Accompany this meze dish with some fresh country-style bread to enjoy it even more

Recipe of Kostas Tsigas,
"Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4-5 people)

For the tomato sauce:

200 gr. of cherry tomatoes
1 yellow onion, grated
½ a tea-cup of malt vinegar
½ a tea-cup of apple juice
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of ground aniseed
1/4 tsp of cardamom seeds
1/4 tsp of boukovo pepper (or other hot pepper)
salt
pepper

For the cheese:
480 gr. of Greek Graviera cheese, cut in 4-5 pieces
½ tea-cup of instant mashed potatoes (flakes)
1 bottle of buttermilk

olive oil for frying

Method:
Put in a medium saucepan all the tomato sauce ingredients, cover with the lid and cook in medium heat for about 30 minutes. Using a fork discard as much peel off the tomatoes as possible (while cooking it falls off the tomatoes).

Turn the heat down to low and continue simmering the sauce for another 1 hour. Take off the heat and leave aside to come to room temperature.

Warm some olive oil in a deep non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Dip the cheese pieces in the buttermilk and then pass it through the potato flakes making sure it is well covered on all sides.

Fry the cheese in hot oil until it is nicely golden on both sides. Discard all the oil from the pan, pour some of the tomato sauce (along with some tomatoes) around the cheese and serve while it is hot with the rest of the sauce separately in a bowl.