Frico (Alpine cheese and potato cake)
- 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.
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Serves 2-4 -
Hands-on time 35 min
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.
Nutrition
- 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!