Secrets of the Best Chefs

Frico with Potato

Serves 4 to 6

Rib-sticking comfort food usually involves something starchy with

something gooey inside (think grilled cheese, lasagna, a calzone).

This dish, which comes from the Friuli region in Italy, inverts the

equation: you have something starchy (fried potatoes) inside

something gooey (melted Montasio cheese). The result, which in

Italian is called formaggio fuso con patate, may be the world’s

greatest hangover cure. Yes, it’s greasy (though you can dab it

with paper towels); yes, it’s unhealthy (Bastianich says you can

top it with a salad, if you’d like); but in terms of a crowd-pleaser,

you can’t do much better.

1 large baking potato, whole

Kosher salt

Enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a skillet

1 onion, sliced into half-moons

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup sliced scallions

½ pound Montasio cheese*, shredded

Place the potato in a pot of cold water and turn up the heat to

high. Bring to a boil, salt the water, and cook until a knife goes