🇮🇹 Italian · Main Dish
🧀 Frico Friulano
Frico
A rustic cake of shredded potatoes, onions, and Montasio cheese, pan-fried until the outside turns deeply golden and crisp while the cheese inside stays meltingly soft.
Frico comes from Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Italy's northeast corner, where it began as a way to use up aging cheese rinds, and has since evolved into this beloved potato-and-cheese cake, crisp outside and irresistibly gooey within.
Ingredients
Equipment: Non-stick skillet, Plate for flipping
- 600 g (1.3 lb) potatoes, peeled and grated
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 400 g (14 oz) Montasio cheese (or a mix of aged and young), grated
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Squeeze the grated potatoes well to remove excess moisture.
- Melt half the butter in a non-stick skillet and sauté the onion until soft and golden.
- Add the grated potatoes to the pan with the onion, season, and press down into an even layer.
- Cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until the underside is golden and crisp.
- Scatter the grated cheese evenly over the potatoes.
- Continue cooking until the cheese begins to melt and the bottom is deeply golden, about 5 more minutes.
- Carefully flip the frico using a large plate, then slide it back into the pan to crisp the second side.
- Cook for another 8–10 minutes until both sides are deeply golden and crisp.
- Slide onto a board, let rest for a couple of minutes, then slice into wedges and serve hot.
Chef Tips
- Squeezing as much moisture as possible from the grated potatoes is key to achieving a properly crisp result.
- A good non-stick pan makes the flipping process far easier and less risky.
- Montasio is traditional, but a mix of any good melting and aged cheeses works well as a substitute.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the moisture-squeezing step, resulting in a soggy rather than crisp frico.
- Flipping too early, before the bottom has properly set and crisped.
- Using only mild, low-flavor cheese, which misses the savory depth good frico depends on.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of calcium and protein from the cheese, though rich and best enjoyed occasionally.
Cultural Note
Frico is a defining dish of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, historically made by shepherds and farmers as a way to use up cheese scraps, now celebrated as a regional specialty in its own right.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten fresh; refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.
Reheating: Reheat in a dry skillet to help re-crisp; the microwave will leave it soft and greasy.
Serve with: Soft polenta, A simple green salad