Frico

A potato and cheese pancake from Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Spring is finally here you say? Well, not around these parts. It’s cold and wet, and there’s snow on the ground—comfort food weather. And is there anything more comforting than melted cheese?

Today’s recipe, one of two dishes called frico, is something like a potato pancake, only you pile on lots of cheese, specifically a mild Alpine cheese called Montasio (see Notes). The cheese melts into the potato and forms a delicious round of goodness, warm and creamy on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside. Washed down with a glass of red wine, frico can really help cheer the spirits on a gloomy evening. Almost makes you wish winter would stick around for a while longer…

Personally I would serve frico on its own as an antipasto or vegetarian second, although it’s substantial enough to be a piatto unico. I understand frico is sometimes served along with polenta, which sound really filling…