Frico Caldo Recipes

Steps:

• Place potato in a small saucepan with enough water to cover; season with salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Drain and peel.
• Immediately transfer potato to a medium bowl and crush into 1/4-inch pieces using a fork.
• Heat butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add to bowl with potato, along with cheese; season with a pinch of salt and nutmeg. Stir until just combined.
• Heat a 5- to 6-inch square cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add enough grapeseed oil to coat bottom of skillet; remove any excess oil and discard. Add potato mixture and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, turn frico and continue cooking 5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together shallots, cilantro, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil; season with salt. Cut frico into 4 wedges and place each on a serving plate, along with salad greens topped with radishes, and sliced speck. Drizzle vegetables with cilantro vinaigrette; serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make pickled shallots
• In small container, combine shallots and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Make cilantro vinaigrette
• In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot, cilantro, and salt. Slowly whisk in oil. Set aside (vinaigrette can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 24 hours).
• Make pesto-pickled shallot vinaigrette
• In fine-mesh sieve, drain pickled shallots, discarding liquid. Transfer shallots to medium bowl and whisk in pesto, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in grapeseed oil, then olive oil. Set aside.
• Make frico caldo
• In heavy 4-quart pot, combine potatoes with enough cold salted water to cover by 2 inches. Cover, set over high heat, and bring to boil, then reduce heat to moderate and simmer until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
• In heavy small skillet over moderate heat, melt butter. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Using large wooden spoon, break up potatoes into roughly 1/4-inch pieces and add to onion. Add cheese, salt, and nutmeg and stir until just combined.
• In heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add potato mixture and flatten into 1/2-inch-thick, 7-inch-wide cake, rounding edges with spatula. Cook, without moving, until underside is browned, about 8 minutes. Invert large plate over skillet and flip frico onto plate. Slide frico back into skillet, uncooked side down, and cook until underside is golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Slide onto large plate and cut into 8 wedges.
• Assemble and serve
• In large bowl, toss romaine with pesto vinaigrette. Arrange 1 wedge frico on each of 8 medium plates. Top each with 2 slices prosciutto and drizzle with cilantro vinaigrette. Arrange 1 cup romaine alongside each wedge. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with silicone mat.
• Working in 2 batches, scoop 8 mounds of finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese (1 tablespoon per mound) onto mat, spreading each mound about 3" wide and spacing at least 1" apart.
• Bake cheese until light brown and melted, 5-6 minutes (check occasionally while baking so it won't turn too brown). Remove sheet from oven and let frico cool completely. (To shape frico, leave baking sheet in oven with door open; use a small offset spatula to remove frico one at a time, working quickly to shape. To form tuile-like shapes, gently roll warm frico around the handle of a wooden spoon. To form cups, press onto the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin pan. Keep frico warm until ready to mold; it hardens quickly as it cools.)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, gently toss together the cheeses.
• Arrange heaping tablespoon-size mounds of the cheese mixture on the baking sheets, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart. Using your fingers, gently pat down each mound to flatten. (It's O.K. if there are holes - the cheese will melt into a web.) Grind pepper over each round.
• Bake until golden and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets until crisp, then transfer to a serving plate using an offset spatula.