P
Italian · Udine
Frico Morbido Friulano con Patate e Cipolla
The soft version of Friuli's defining cheese dish — a near-liquid molten combination of sliced waxy potatoes, thinly sliced cipolla bianca, and abundant Montasio DOP at different aging stages, cooked slowly in a pan until everything melds into a single pliable, trembling disc. Unlike Frico Croccante (the crisp version), Frico Morbido is served hot from the pan, just set enough to slice but still yielding, with a glossy, stringy pull from the Montasio.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
waxy potatoes
Charlotte or Nicola, peeled, sliced 2 mm on a mandoline
Origin · FranceLekker · Vancouver →
200 g
Montasio DOP
2–3 months aged (morbido stage), rind removed, thinly sliced or coarsely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
Montasio DOP
5–6 months aged (stagionato), rind removed, thinly sliced or coarsely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
cipolla bianca
paper-thin slices
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
unsalted butter
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over low heat. Add the cipolla bianca and cook, undisturbed but for an occasional gentle stir, until fully translucent and soft — no colour. The onion must be completely yielding before anything else enters the pan.
2
Lay the mandoline-sliced potatoes over the softened onion in an even layer. Distribute both ages of Montasio across the surface — the younger morbido evenly, the stagionato interspersed for structure and depth. Press lightly to consolidate.
3
Cover the pan and cook over the lowest possible heat without disturbance. This is where the dish lives or dies: high heat scorches the cheese exterior before the potato cooks through; only patient, sustained low heat allows the three elements to meld into a single pliable disc. Cook 25–30 minutes until the underside is set and golden and the potato slices are fully tender throughout.
4
When the edges are visibly set and the centre trembles with each gentle shake of the pan, the disc is ready to turn. Slide it onto a flat plate, invert the pan over the plate, and flip together in one decisive movement. Return the pan to low heat and cook the second side a further 5–8 minutes until set but still yielding at the centre.
5
Slide onto a board or warm plate. The finished Frico Morbido should hold its disc form when cut yet pull apart in long, glossy, stringy threads of molten Montasio. Serve immediately, hot from the pan.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Montasio DOP sourced directly from a Carnia malga — both the 2–3 month and 5–6 month wheels from the same producer, guaranteeing matched milk and consistent fat content for texture control. Potatoes dug to order from a Friulian mountain garden.
02
Estate — Montasio DOP certified and bearing the consortium mark, purchased from a specialist affineur who stocks both aging stages. Charlotte or Nicola potatoes from a named grower; farm butter.
03
Market — Montasio DOP bought from a good Italian delicatessen in both required aging stages. Sound waxy potatoes — Charlotte or Nicola — from a market stall. Standard unsalted butter.
04
House — Any clearly labelled Montasio DOP in two distinct stages of aging — do not substitute a single age or a non-DOP cheese, as the structural outcome depends on the blend. Any firm waxy potato sliced strictly to 2 mm.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The cipolla bianca is fully translucent with no remaining opacity or raw sheen — no colour must develop before the potato and cheese are added.
◇Touch. A knife tip inserted at the centre of the disc meets no resistance from the potato slices — they are fully tender throughout, not merely soft at the edges.
◇Sight. The edges of the disc are visibly set and pulling fractionally from the pan wall; the centre trembles as a unified mass — not as separate liquid pockets — when the pan is gently shaken.
◇Sight. When cut, the Frico pulls apart in long, glossy, continuous threads of molten Montasio — a clean break without threads indicates the disc has over-set or the cheese ratio was wrong.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at low heat: only slow, patient heat from beneath allows the potato to cook through and the two ages of Montasio to meld into a single trembling disc rather than a scorched shell over a raw interior.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year