Montasio Cheese Crisps Recipes

POTATO- AND ASPARAGUS-STUFFED CHEESE CRISPS

Steps:

• Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until barely tender, about 35 minutes. Drain. Cool completely. Peel potatoes; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cook asparagus in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes; cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add red onions; sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add green onions and asparagus; sauté 3 minutes. Transfer to plate with potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat another nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 1/3 cup grated cheese over bottom of skillet and spread to 5-inch round. Arrange d of potato-asparagus mixture evenly over cheese and press gently. Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese evenly over potato-asparagus mixture. Cook until bottom layer of cheese is golden brown around edges and on bottom, about 5 minutes. Using metal spatula, carefully loosen edges and bottom of cheese crisp from skillet. Transfer to small plate. Top with another small plate and invert cheese crisp. Slide crisp back into skillet, browned side up, and cook until crisp and brown on bottom, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to rimmed nonstick baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cheese and potato-asparagus mixture for 5 more crisps. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Rewarm in 350°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.
• Place 1 cheese crisp on each of 6 plates and serve.

FRICO WITH APPLES AND MONTASIO CHEESE

Steps:

• Peel and core the apples, and slice into wedges about 1/2 inch thick. Pour the olive oil in the skillet, and set over medium heat. Scatter the apple wedges in the pan, and toss to coat with oil. Cook and caramelize the apples for about 8 minutes, tossing frequently, until tinged with brown and softened but not mushy. Spill the caramelized apples onto a plate.
• Sprinkle half of the shredded Montasio in an even layer over the bottom of the skillet. Return the apples to the pan, spread them evenly on top of the cheese, then sprinkle the remainder of the shredded cheese over the apples.
• Lower the heat, and let the frico cook undisturbed until the bottom is very brown and crisped, about 10 minutes. If the cheese releases a lot of fat in the pan, blot it up with paper towels. Shake the pan to loosen the disk, put a large plate on top and invert, dropping the frico onto the plate, then slide it back in the skillet, top side down. Cook until the second side is crisp and brown, about 7 minutes more.
• Slide (or invert) the frico onto the plate, blot up oil, and slice into six wedges. Serve hot.
• Frico served with a slab of grilled polenta while everyone is seated around a fogoler with a crackling fire-this is Friuli. The fogoler is a four-sided open hearth with a central hood, from which the polenta cauldron hangs. As inmost of the world today, these romantic traditions are disappearing, but if you travel to Friuli and wander off to a small-town restaurant or trattoria on a cold winter's day, chances are that you will find a fogoler with the fire raging and something perking on it.