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Frico (Alpine cheese and potato cake)

By: Pollyanna Coupland
Food producer, delicious.

Published: 29 Aug 24
Updated: 8 Oct 24

Four ingredients are all it takes to create frico, this simple yet irresistibly flavoursome potato dish from one of Italy’s more obscure regions, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The result is a soft, oozy, indulgent savoury cake that’s sort of like a very cheesy hash brown. Perfect with a glass of wine and a few friends to help you polish it off.

This region exemplifies just how varied Italian food is. Here on the mountainous border with Austria and Slovenia, the local cuisine is hearty, with stews, pastries, polenta and dumplings more common than pasta and pizza. But there are plenty of Mediterranean flavours too, from the fish caught off the Adriatic coast to prosciutto di san daniele, an air-dried ham that’s sweeter than parma ham. Read all about the food of Friuli-Venezia Giulia with our delicious. guide.

Easy
September 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 2-4
Hands-on time 35 min

Nutrition: Per serving (for 4)

Calories: 411kcals
Fat: 27g (14g saturated)
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 21g (1.9g sugars)
Fibre: 2.6g
Salt: 1.1g

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Before you start

If you don’t have a mandoline, you can coarsely grate the potato instead. Be patient and cook the onions and potatoes down slowly – you want a deeply caramelised mixture rather than any burnt bits.

Before you start

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large potatoes (around 500g), peeled and finely sliced to 1.5mm thick on a mandoline
250g montasio cheese, coarsely grated (see Know-how)

Specialist kit

Mandoline

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Method

Pour the oil into a medium non-stick frying pan over a low-medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 7 minutes
until soft. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring regularly, for 20-25 minutes. Don’t worry if they break up; the aim is for them to be tender and nicely caramelised all over.
Season the mixture with a little more salt and lots of black pepper, then add the cheese, stirring it into the mixture a third at a time. Once it’s all combined, use a spatula to pack it down tightly and smooth the surface, then turn up the heat to medium-high and cook, undisturbed, for 4-5 minutes to create a deep, golden cheesy crust on the base. You can remove some of the oil rising to the top by blotting with kitchen paper.
Put a board over the pan and, in a swift and confident single motion, flip both the pan and board upside-down. Carefully slide the frico from the board, back into the pan to crisp up the other side. Don’t worry if it falls apart slightly; the cheese will act as a delicious glue and stick everything together as it finishes cooking.

Tip the crisp frico out onto a serving board and leave to cool for a few minutes (this will help it solidify and firm up a little) before slicing. Serve warm.

Recipe from September 2024 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 411kcals
Fat: 27g (14g saturated)
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 21g (1.9g sugars)
Fibre: 2.6g
Salt: 1.1g

delicious. tips

Montasio cheese is from the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the
key component of the recipe. It’s available from Italian delis or online. A cow’s milk cheese, it has a mild Alpine flavour with excellent melting properties. You could substitute it with 200g young gruyère or emmental, along with 50g pecorino, although a Friulian might justifiably take issue with this!