Name: Frico
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Italian, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Ingredients: 600 g waxy or all-purpose potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated; 400 g young Montasio cheese, coarsely grated; 150 g yellow onion, thinly sliced; 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for starting the onion and potato; 3 g fine sea salt, use cautiously because Montasio is salty; 1 g freshly ground black pepper

Frico: wide hero view of round broad golden-brown potato and cheese cake with a crisp browned surface and visible potato texture, served on a rustic board or parchment

Prep20 minutes

Cook35 minutes

Total1 h

Yield4 servings

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The dish

About Frico

Frico is one of Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s emblematic dishes. Italia.it describes the best-known potato version as a pie of potatoes and local cheese, traditionally Montasio, with a crisp crust and a soft, stringy centre. That contrast is the defining target of this recipe.

The dish has several forms, including thin crisp frico made almost entirely from cheese. The verified photographs instead show a broad golden cake with visible potato structure, so this version is the soft potato-and-onion frico rather than the wafer-like cheese crisp.

Potatoes need to become tender before the cheese is asked to bind them. Coarse grating keeps enough structure to read as potato while shortening the cooking time. Onion softens first and gives sweetness without turning the final cake into a strongly browned hash.

Montasio supplies salt, fat and the characteristic dairy flavour. A relatively young cheese melts most smoothly; using some slightly more mature Montasio deepens flavour but can make the cake firmer. Once the cheese enters, the mixture is pressed into a single round rather than stirred continuously.

The final flip is both visual and technical. The underside must be well set and deep golden before the cake is turned. A plate or lid makes the manoeuvre safer than trying to toss a heavy cheese-and-potato cake in the air.

Technique

Three things that matter

Tenderise potatoes before adding cheese. Raw potato trapped in melted cheese will stay firm while the outside overbrowns.
Use Montasio that melts well. Younger cheese binds the potatoes into a soft centre without becoming greasy or rubbery.
Wait for a real crust before flipping. A well-browned base releases more easily and gives frico its defining crisp exterior.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Ingredients

Frico mixture

600 gwaxy or all-purpose potatoespeeled and coarsely grated
400 gyoung Montasio cheesecoarsely grated
150 gyellow onionthinly sliced
15 mlextra-virgin olive oilfor starting the onion and potato
3 gfine sea saltuse cautiously because Montasio is salty
1 gfreshly ground black pepper

Step by step

Method

Cook the onion and potatoes

Soften the onion. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 6–7 minutes until soft and translucent without deep browning.
The onion should bend easily and smell sweet, with little colour.
Add and tenderise the potatoes. Add the grated potatoes, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring every few minutes. If the pan is very dry, add 1–2 tablespoons of water.
The potato shreds should be tender enough to crush between the spatula and pan.

Bind with Montasio

Melt the cheese through the potatoes. Lower the heat and add the grated Montasio in three additions, folding until the cheese is distributed and begins to melt around the potato.
The mixture should become cohesive and glossy without a large pool of separated fat.
Shape a single cake. Press the mixture into an even 2–3 cm-thick round, smoothing the top and tucking in loose edges.
The cake should move as one mass when the skillet is shaken gently.

Brown both sides

Develop the first crust. Cook over medium heat for 7–9 minutes without stirring, rotating the skillet occasionally for even heat. Loosen the edges with a spatula.
The underside should be a deep even gold and release from the pan.
Flip and brown the second side. Slide the frico onto a flat plate, invert the skillet over it and turn the cake back into the pan. Cook another 6–8 minutes.
Both faces should be crisp and browned while the centre remains soft.
Rest briefly and serve. Transfer to a board or platter and rest 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.
The wedges should hold shape but still show melted, soft cheese between potato pieces.

Practical guidance

Frico styles

Friuli also has a thin, crisp cheese-only frico. The photographed dish is the thicker potato version with a soft centre and is treated separately here.

Montasio age

Young Montasio gives the easiest melt. A portion of semi-mature cheese can add flavour, but very aged cheese makes the centre less elastic.

Potato moisture

If freshly grated potatoes are extremely wet, squeeze only lightly. Some moisture helps them steam tender before the crust forms.

Serving

Frico is excellent immediately from the skillet and is often paired with polenta, but the cake is substantial enough to serve on its own.

Troubleshooting

The frico breaks during the flip. The first crust was not set or the mixture was too wet. Cook longer before turning and use a plate rather than a freehand toss.
The potatoes stay firm. They were not tender before the cheese was added. Cover and cook the potato mixture fully first.
There is a pool of oil in the pan. The heat was too high or the cheese was very mature. Lower the heat and blot only excess surface fat after the cake has set.
The crust burns before the centre heats. Reduce the heat and give the potatoes more time before the final browning stage.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 wedge
Calories: approximately 650 kcal
Carbohydrates: 34 g
Protein: 32 g
Fat: 44 g
Fibre: 4 g
Sodium: approximately 1,050 mg

Montasio age and salinity have a large effect on sodium and fat.

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk.

Keep cheese refrigerated until use and handle the hot, heavy cake carefully when flipping; use a stable plate and dry oven gloves.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 days; reheat until steaming hot and re-crisp in a skillet if desired.

FAQ

Is frico always made with potatoes?

No. A separate crisp version can be made mainly from cheese, while this soft frico combines potatoes, onion and Montasio.

What cheese should be used?

Montasio is the defining Friulian choice. Young Montasio melts most smoothly for the soft potato version.

Why does the cake need to rest?

A five-minute rest lets the molten cheese settle just enough for clean wedges without losing the soft centre.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A round deep-golden cake with crisp cheese-potato surfaces and a soft, savoury, slightly stretchy Montasio centre.
Key: Tenderise the potatoes first, melt the cheese gently and do not flip until the first crust is truly set.

About Frico

Three things that matter

Ingredients

Ingredients

Frico mixture

Method

Practical guidance

Frico styles

Montasio age

Potato moisture

Serving

Troubleshooting

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

FAQ

Is frico always made with potatoes?

What cheese should be used?

Why does the cake need to rest?

What matters most

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