Fritters

These puffs of loveliness are made with yeast dough and flavoured with cheese, fresh herbs and crumbled pancetta.

I make these from my homemade pizza dough – tearing off a knob of dough when I make it and saving it to make into fritters, either the same day or freezing for a day when a doughy pick-me-up is in order.

Once you have the dough made, the fritters are a wonderful opportunity for creativity. For this batch, I used montasio cheese, pancetta and fresh parsley. Other great combinations are asiago, salami and olives, or parmesan, basil and bits of oven-dried tomatoes.

For my kids, I make a mean cheese and pepperoni version and call them “pizza balls” – a name that elicits mischievous little giggles.

Ingredients

Fresh pizza dough (but really, don’t make dough just for this! Have a fabulous pizza night and save a little dough for these.)

Chopped herbs

Crumble pancetta, bacon or finely sliced ham or salami

Finely grated parmesan, montasio or asiago cheese (or any cheese you love)

Directions

Break off a piece of pizza dough, about the size of a golf ball. Knead about a tablespoon each of herbs, cheese and cooked meat into the piece and roll into a ball. Repeat until you have as many dough balls as you’d like.

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350 degrees. Gently fry a few fritters at a time, removing to a paper towel lined plate once they are golden brown. Lightly sprinkle the hot fritters with salt and serve immediately.

I served these with freshly sliced prosciutto (made by my Dad, Italo) and arugula from the garden dressed simply with oil, red wine vinegar and garlic.

Frico

You simply cannot talk about food in Friuli without talking about frico . . . beautiful, decadent, frico. We even saw t-shirts in Udine that said “Make frico not war.” And yes, one taste of any of the many versions of this dish of pan fried montasio cheese, and you would have to agree that the world would be a much more peaceful place if everyone could sit down with this delicacy and get lost in its simple perfection.

At its simplicist, frico is finely shredded montasio or piave chese pan fried into a crispy, lacey tuille. Other versions mix the montasio with potatoes and sometimes onions to make a cheesey pancake, crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. We grew up calling that gorgeous version “Nonna’s potatoes” and my brother Paul has perfected it and often serves it in his home, no doubt with a toast to our Nonna, Adrianna.

Today, I made the simple montasio crisp version to go along with a late summer salad fresh out of the garden.

I did my first batch in a dry, non-stick pan on the stovetop. They are finicky and I found I could only do one at a time so I tried a batch in the oven and they worked well.

Frico

Arrange the shredded montasio, about 1 tablespoon at a time, in circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space for spreading between each circle. Bake for about 4 minutes in  pre-heated, 400-degree oven, watching constantly for that golden colour.