Delicious Frika (Potato and Cheese Hash)
Frika was often served for breakfast or brunch, but we love serving it for lunch or dinner. These are the top reasons why we like it:
- the crispy golden exterior and a delicious cheesy interior that melts in your mouth
- quick and easy preparation
- vegetarian and gluten-free
- a fantastic dish to make during the week
- serve for breakfast, brunch, or main dish
This recipe is created in collaboration with slovenia.si - part of the series of Traditional Slovenian recipes. Last Sunday, we shared a recipe for Potato Filled Pasta or Idrijski Žlikrofi.
Essential ingredients
For this recipe, we will need four simple ingredients. When it comes to Slovenian food, most of the dishes are usually prepared with simple and easily accessible ingredients. You can find the whole recipe below.
Potato - use potatoes that are good for baking.
Fat - use pancetta, olive oil, or lard in this recipe.
Cheese - We used cheese Tolminc, often used in this recipe; however, using different hard or semi-hard cheeses will do the job.
Herbs - use fresh herbs like parsley, oregano, and lovage.
TIP: Feel free to precook the potatoes. This will shorten the cooking process. Place the grated potatoes in the sieve and place the sieve on top of the pot with boiling water. Cook for 6 - 8 minutes.
Storing
We don't recommend storing these Frika; we recommend serving them as soon as possible.
How to make Frika at home (video)
Check this quick video to master making Frika at home. This video was created in collaboration with slovenia.si.
Next time, try these potato recipes
- Roasted Smashed Potatoes
- Rosemary Potato Focaccia
- Rosti (Potato and Zucchini Fritters)
- Idrijski žlikrofi (Potato Filled Pasta)
- Potato Goulash
METHOD
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prepare the potatoes
Peel the potatoes and grate them. Pour cold water into a large bowl. Add the potatoes and rinse thoroughly. Drain, then repeat the process two or three times until the water is clean.
TipThis way, we are getting rid of starch. -
Frika
Cut the pancetta into small cubes. Grate the cheese, and stir both cheeses together in a bowl. Add pancetta to a 22cm (9-inch) pan. Optionally add a teaspoon of oil and pan-fry the pancetta over medium heat for about 3 - 4 minutes. Feel free to use oil or lard instead of pancetta. Add the drained potatoes and arrange them all over the pan. While stirring continuously over medium heat, cook for 15 - 18 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. If the potato browns too quickly, add a tablespoon of water.
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Frika
Add half the cheese and stir it into the Frika with a spatula. Cook for a minute, and when the cheese starts to melt, and the mixture starts to thicken, add the rest of the cheese and herbs. Stir well, and shake the pan from time to time. Spread the Frika evenly over the pan and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Transfer the Frika to a plate and flip it back in the pan so it cooks on another side too. Cook for 5 minutes until golden and crispy outside.
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Serve
Serve the Frika warm. Cut into slices and optionally sprinkle with fresh herbs.
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