P
Italian · Carnia, Friuli
Frico Morbido — Soft Cheese and Potato Cake
Frico morbido is the richer, more complex cousin of frico croccante: grated Montasio (a mix of young and aged) melted with onion and sliced waxy potatoes in a pan, shaped into a thick cake and cooked until the base is golden and crusty while the interior remains yielding. It is the traditional one-pan mountain dish of the Carnia — a substantial main course that demonstrates how thoroughly cheese can carry a dish. The technique of pressing and releasing the cheese-potato mixture as a cohesive mass is the key skill.
‹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.
300 g
Montasio, young (6-month)
coarsely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
Montasio, aged (12+ month)
coarsely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
600 g
2 medium
onions
finely sliced
Your own market
60 g
unsalted butter
Your own market
1 tsp
caraway seeds
optional Friulian mountain variation
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
to taste
fine salt
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 heavy-based frying pan (24–26 cm) over low heat. Add the sliced onions, and the caraway seeds if using, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onions are completely soft and without colour — they must offer no resistance when pressed against the side of the pan.
2
Add the thinly sliced potatoes in an even layer. Cook over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the slices are soft and slightly translucent at the edges. They must be fully cooked through at this stage; undercooked potato will not integrate with the cheese.
3
Scatter the grated young and aged Montasio evenly over the potato and onion mixture. Stir to combine, then press the entire mass down firmly with a spatula into a compact, even cake. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient pressure at this stage means the mass will not cohere, and the inversion will fail.
4
Cook over medium heat, pressing down periodically, without disturbing the base. Lift one edge carefully with a spatula: the base is ready when it is deep golden and releases cleanly from the pan.
5
Place a large flat plate — slightly wider than the pan — over the pan. Flip the pan quickly and decisively in a single movement to invert the frico onto the plate, then slide it back into the pan, uncooked side down. Press down again to maintain the cake's shape.
6
Cook the second side over medium heat until it too is golden and releases cleanly. The frico morbido is done when both faces are crunchy and golden and the interior, probed at the centre with the tip of a knife, yields softly. Serve immediately from the pan.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Montasio DOP sourced directly from a Carnian producer, with a clear distinction between a 6-month wheel for melting and a 15-month or older wheel for depth of flavour. Potatoes dug to order from a mountain variety with dense, dry flesh.
02
Estate — Montasio DOP purchased from a specialist Italian cheesemonger, both ages correctly specified. Desiree or Yukon Gold potatoes from a known grower. Cultured unsalted butter.
03
Market — Montasio DOP from a well-stocked supermarket or delicatessen — young and aged if both are available. Standard Desiree or Yukon Gold. Good-quality unsalted butter.
04
House — A single age of Montasio DOP if only one is available; the texture will be less nuanced. Substitute a proportion of mild, meltable Asiago if Montasio is entirely unavailable. Any waxy potato variety.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Onions yield with no resistance when pressed against the pan — no crunch, no rawness remains.
◇Sight. Potato slices are soft and slightly translucent at their edges before the cheese is added.
◇Touch. The pressed mass holds together as a single unit when the edge is lifted — it does not crumble or sag.
◇Sight. A lifted edge reveals a deep, even golden crust that releases cleanly from the pan surface.
◇Touch. A knife tip inserted at the centre of the finished cake meets a soft, molten, yielding interior — not firm, not liquid.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the pressing step: the cheese-potato mass must be compacted firmly and continuously into a cohesive cake before the inversion, or it will fall apart.
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
Fortified 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
Sourced through Provenance