James Beard Award winner Lidia Bastianich cooks up some delicious Italian cuisine in the KC Live kitchen.
See more at www.lidias-kc.com.
Filled Montasio Cheese Crisp
Frico Ripieno
Makes 4 generous servings
Filling of your choice*
1 pound Montasio cheese, rind removed (about ¾ pound trimmed) and coarsely shredded (about 5 loosely packed cups)
Tender young salad greens, washed and dried (optional; see note below)
Prepare the filling of your choice*. Preheat the oven to 250 F.
To cook filled fricos in a skillet: Place a 4- to 5-inch non-stick skillet over medium low heat until a shred of the cheese begins to sizzle 2 to 3 seconds after it hits the pan. Scatter one eighth of the cheese (about a generous ½ cup) in an even layer over the bottom of the skillet. Arrange ¼ of the filling of choice over the cheese in an even layer. Sprinkle another generous ½ cup of the cheese over the filling in an even layer. Cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides as instructed on page 43. Filled fricos require a little extra care when removing them from the pan and turning them. Slide the crisp out onto a baking sheet and keep it warm in the oven while cooking the remaining fricos.
Pat the fricos dry with paper towels, cut in half, top with dressed greens if you like and serve.
Slide the crisp out onto a baking sheet and keep it warm in the oven while cooking the remaining fricos.
*Fillings for fricos can be just about anything you like. The important thing to remember is that the filling will only have time to become hot, but not actually cook, so the filling needs to be fully cooked before it goes into the frico. Some of the most popular fillings at Lidia's Kansas City are: potato and leek, wild mushroom, shrimp and scallion, roasted tomato and sausage, and lobster and corn.
Note: if you decide to use the greens, dress them lightly with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, or a dash of red wine vinegar, and salt and freshly ground black pepper.
