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Frico, from the north of Italy, is the ultimate comfort food. Potatoes and onions sauteed until soft then fried with lots of Italian Montasio cheese until it’s extra crispy on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside. It’s the ultimate treat for colder weather.
Frico is a rich and indulgent recipe from Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the north of Italy. A lot of food in the northern regions are famous for their hearty dishes using lots of cheese and butter and this recipe is no exception.
It’s relatively easy to make other than the rather fiddly flipping of it to ensure it’s extra crispy on both sides. I call it a cake, but it’s not really, it’s like a cheesy and soft potato rosti with extra crispy edges which is like eating the best crispy cheese from the top lasagne or potato dauphinoise (if you know, you know).
Traditionally Frico is served alongside crispy fried or grilled polenta and you eat a piece of polenta and frico together. We like to serve it as a snack or light lunch/dinner with a simple salad like arugula and olive oil, of course, a glass of red wine won’t go amiss either!
Ingredients
See the photo below that shows everything you need to make Frico plus some ingredient notes and substitutions.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Potatoes – I recommend using red potatoes for this as they don’t break up too much during the cooking process.
- Montasio cheese – if you can’t find Montasio you could use another good melting cheese with a nutty flavour such as Gruyere, Fontina or Comte.
- Onions – use brown or white.
- Butter and olive oil – traditionally lard is used for frying but we like to use a combination of butter and olive oil.
Step by step photos and instructions
- Finely slice the onions and set aside then peel and grate the potatoes using a box grater, set those aside separately (photo 1).
- Melt the butter and oil in a small pan over a medium heat, once hot add the onions and saute them until soft and translucent (about 10 minutes) (photos 2 and 3).
- Add grated potato and season with a good pinch of salt, cook for 15 minutes on a medium heat until the potato is just cook through. Toss and turn the potatoes every so often to ensure even cooking use to wooden spoons for this (photos 4 and 5).
- Add cubed montasio cheese (or cheese you are using) and mix for a couple of minutes until the cheese is combined and is starting to melt (photos 7 and 8).
- Once the cheese has started to melt, spread the frico out into an even layer and leave it to cook on one side for about 6-7 mins until golden brown ( just keep checking it by lifting the edges slightly with a spatula to make sure it doesn’t burn) (photo 9).
- Once browned slide the frico onto a plate and then place the pan upside down on top of the plate and flip it back over into the pan to cook the other side (photos 10-12)
- Cook for another 6 minutes on the other side until golden brown. Flip onto a plate or board to serve.
Recipe Tips
- Pan sizes – we used a 24cm (9.5 inch) nonstick pan for this recipe although we have also tested it in a 28cm (11 inch) pan which works just as well it’ll just give you a thinner Frico.
- Shallow sided pan – make sure the nonstick pan you use doesn’t have really high sides or it’ll be quite difficult to remove and flip.
- Flipping the Frico – when you flip the frico onto the other side don’t worry too much if it doesn’t look perfect. It’ll form back together as the cheese melts.
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Step By Step Photos Above
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Frico
Equipment
- 24cm (9.5 inch) nonstick pan (see notes)
- Fish slice or spatula, for flipping
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs (640g) red potatoes
- 8.8 oz(250g) Montasio cheese, (about 1.5 cups, cubed) see notes*
- 1 brown or white onion , finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Finely slice 1 onion and set aside then peel and grate 640g (1.5 lbs) of potatoes using a box grater, set that aside separately.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan over a medium heat, once hot add the onions and saute them until soft and translucent (about 10 minutes).
- Add the grated potato and season with a good pinch of salt. Cook for about 15 minutes on a medium heat until the potato is just cooked through. Toss and turn the potatoes every so often to ensure even cooking. I like to do this with two wooden spoons as if you're tossing a salad.
- Add 250g or 8.8oz of the cubed montasio cheese and mix for a couple of minutes until the cheese is combined and is starting to melt.
- Once the cheese has started to melt, spread the frico out into an even layer and leave it to cook on one side for about 6-7 mins until golden brown (keep checking it by lifting the edges slightly with a spatula to make sure it doesn’t burn).
- Once browned slide the frico onto a plate and then place the pan upside down on top of the plate and flip it back over into the pan to cook the other side (see photos or video for reference).
- Cook for another 6 minutes on the other side until golden brown. Flip the frico onto a serving board or plate to serve.
Notes
- Other cheese to use – if you can’t find Montasio cheese you can use Fontina, Gruyere or Comte as good substitutes.
- Pan size – if you don’t have a 24cm (9.5 inch) pan you can use a 28cm (11 inch) pan instead or anywhere in between those two sizes. The bigger the pan size the thinner the frico will be.
- Shallow-sided pan – make sure the nonstick pan you use doesn’t have really high sides or it’ll be quite difficult to remove and flip.
- Flipping the Frico – when you flip the frico onto the other side don’t worry too much if it doesn’t look perfect. It’ll form back together as the cheese melts.
- Serving – Frico is delicious served warm while the cheese is still gooey but it’s also delicious once cooled.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks wonderful! Now I have to find the cheese.
Thank you Mimi! You should be able to find the cheese online but if not, fontina, gruyere or comte would work really well! 🙂