If anyone were to look at a photograph of a friulian frico without knowing what it is, they would probably think they were looking at a potato omelette. It actually looks quite similar, at least visually speaking, but in the frico cheese is used to compact the potatoes instead of egg. This makes the flavor differ while still reminiscent of the Spanish potato omelette.
Friuli is the northeast area of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia, which includes such important cities as Udine and Trieste.
INGREDIENTS (4/6 people) :
- 700 grams (1.5 lbs) of potatoes
- 350 grams (12 oz) of Montasio cheese, with various cured
- 2 medium onions
- Salt
- ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
First of all we must boil the potatoes and once cooked and cooled, we grate them. Next we grate the Montasio cheese. Various types of Montasio are generally used depending on the degree of cure. Soft, medium and cured or very cured Montasio cheeses are used in proportional parts. Montasio cheese is not well known outside of Italy and it is not easy to find either. It can be replaced by a cow's milk cheese with a yellowish color and a somewhat sweet taste.
Chop the onions and fry them in a splash of olive oil in a frying pan. When transparent, add the grated potato and mix well, seasoning (approximately half a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of ground black pepper). Then add the grated cheese and again mix well. When the potato, onion and cheese have been well combined, we proceed to flatten the resulting mass against the pan using a spatula.
We will let it brown well on one side and then, with the help of a lid or a plate, we will turn it over. It should be golden on both sides. It is usually served well heated accompanied by polenta, which, as you know, is the typical food of the north as opposed to pasta, which is from the south of the country (everything is said with sufficient caution since nowdays pasta is common in every corner of Italy) .