Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Tolmezzo (Carnia)

Frico con patate

Name: Frico con patate
Prep time: 19 min
Cook time: 29 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
Ingredients: 500 g yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced or coarsely grated; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 500 g Montasio PDO, grated (a mix of young, medium and aged); 40 g butter (traditional — or the same amount of olive oil); salt and pepper (to taste)

Friulian potato and Montasio cheese cake

Potatoes, onion and Montasio cheese fried slowly into a golden cake, crisp outside and soft inside.

Documented traditionSources checked · October 2026

Course: Secondo piattoMain course
Serves: 4
Hands-on: 19 min
Cooking: 29 min
Resting: 2 min+

La provenienza

Where this recipe comes from

Frico was the food of the Carnic mountains, a poor and filling dish that used up what cheese there was. It is on Friuli's list of traditional food products, and today it is made with Montasio, a PDO cheese of Friuli and eastern Veneto, mixing young, medium and aged wheels.

There are two versions: this soft one with potatoes, and a crisp one made with cheese alone, often served with cured meats. There is no official recipe; the quantities here are those Friulian sources agree on.

Provenance: Documented traditionA regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.
Defined by: Friulian tradition
Reference: Made with Montasio PDO
Sources: Scatti di Gusto — frico, the traditional Friulian dish and its original recipe (Italian)
Dissapore — frico with potatoes and onions, the traditional Friulian recipe (Italian)

Tolmezzo (Carnia), Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Ingredienti

Ingredients

4 servings

500 g yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced or coarsely grated
1 onion, thinly sliced
500 g Montasio PDO, grateda mix of young, medium and aged
40 g buttertraditional — or the same amount of olive oil
salt and pepperto taste

Equipment

Non-stick frying pan about 26 cm across, with a lid
Large flat plate, wider than the pan, for turning the frico
Coarse grater
Kitchen paper

Preparazione

Method

About an hour, mostly slow cooking in one pan. Make the polenta at the same time if you are serving it.

19 minhands-on
29 mincooking
2 minresting, at least

The potatoes

Hands-on 10 min

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (3 mm) or grate them coarsely. Slice the onion thinly. Grate the Montasio coarsely.
Hands-on 5 minHeat medium-low

Melt the butter in the pan over medium-low heat and soften the onion for about 5 minutes.
Cooking 15–20 minHeat medium-low, covered

Add the potatoes, season with a little salt and pepper, cover and cook, stirring now and then, until they are tender and starting to break up — 15–20 minutes.

Check The potatoes crush easily against the side of the pan.

The cheese and the crust

Hands-on 3–5 minHeat medium-low

Add the Montasio a handful at a time, stirring, until it has melted into the potatoes — 3–5 minutes.
Cooking 8–10 minHeat medium

Press the mixture into an even round with the back of a spatula. Raise the heat to medium and cook without stirring for 8–10 minutes.

Check Shake the pan: the frico slides freely, and the edge you can see is deep golden.

Tip Do not turn it until it slides by itself — a crust that sticks is not ready.
Hands-on 1 min

Put the plate upside down over the pan, turn pan and plate over together, and slide the frico back into the pan, crust side up.
Cooking 6–8 minHeat medium

Cook for another 6–8 minutes until the second side is golden too.
Rest 2 min

Slide the frico onto kitchen paper for a couple of minutes to drain the fat the cheese releases, then cut it into wedges and serve hot, traditionally with soft polenta.

Tip Montasio releases a lot of fat as it melts: draining is what keeps the frico crisp rather than greasy.

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Errori comuni

Common mistakes

Turning it too early — wait until the crust releases from the pan by itself.
Skipping the draining: Montasio releases a lot of fat as it cooks.

Fuori dall'Italia

Cooking it outside Italy

No Montasio? Mix a young Asiago with a little aged Parmigiano Reggiano.