Frico (in original

Friulian language Friulian ( ) or Friulan (natively or ; it, friulano; de-AT, Furlanisch; sl, furlanščina) is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaeto-Romance family, spoken in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy. Friulian has around 600,000 speak ...

''fricò'') is a traditional dish of

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...

, a region in north-east Italy, consisting mainly of heated

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

and, optionally, other ingredients, such as potatoes. Originally frico was prepared in the impoverished region as a way of recycling cheese rinds. There are two popular versions of the dish: one soft and thick, which is usually served in slices, and the other thin and crunchy, which can be used either as a garnish or as an

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the ...

. While the soft version has a long tradition, the history of the thin version is disputed. The first recipes for frico date to around 1450 by ''Maestro Martino'', cook of the

camerlengo Camerlengo (plural: ''camerlenghi'', Italian for " chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin. It derives from the late Latin ''camarlingus'', in turn coming through the Frankish ''kamerling'', from the Latin ''camerarius'' which meant ...

of the

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Na ...

patriarch. Frico has similarities to another Alpine dish,

rösti Rösti or rööschti () is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan. It was originally a breakfast dish, commonly eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but is now eaten all over Switzerland and around th ...

Preparation

As many other traditional dishes, frico's preparation is quite simple.

Soft frico

Soft frico is made of high-fat cheese, typically

Montasio ''Montasio'' is a mountain cheese made from cow's milk produced in northeastern Italy in the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto. It was awarded a protected designation of origin (PDO) in 1986. History It takes its name from the famo ...

, usually with potatoes and onions or optionally with other vegetables. After slicing, the potatoes and onions are roasted in a large frying pan with butter or oil. An equal weight of shredded cheese is then added to the pan. The mixture is pressed down in the pan to form a thin cake. This is roasted on one side until the cheese melts and becomes crisp and golden. After careful turning, the frico is browned on the other side. While

is the typical cheese used for frico, other cheeses such as

Asiago cheese Asiago ( or ; ) is a cow's milk cheese, first produced in Italy, that can assume different textures according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago (called , which means 'Pressed Asiago') to a crumbly texture for the aged cheese (, wh ...

or even mixtures of cheeses might be used. It can be served with

polenta Polenta (, ) is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. ...

and red wine.

Thin frico

For this second version a thin layer of shredded

is added on a frying pan, until the cheese becomes malleable and slightly crispy. As long as the frico remains warm it can be modelled into baskets, bowls or other decorative containers for food.Making a frico basket
/ref>

Popular culture

Coming from a small region, frico remains relatively unknown even among Italians. It received some public attention in Italy and the United States in 2013, when Friuli native

Luca Manfè The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

prepared it at the semi-finals of the fourth season of the television series ''

Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

''. Potato and egg frico has also been featured in a 2020 television episode of "Lidia's Kitchen".

References

{{Cheese dishes Snack foods Cheese dishes Italian cuisine Potato dishes

Preparation

Soft frico

Thin frico

Popular culture

See also

References