Friuli-Venezia · Giulia · — · Carnia, · Udine · Province Techniques

Carnia's mysterious filled pasta — half-moon dumplings whose filling contains an ingredient list that challenges all culinary logic: potatoes, ricotta, cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, cocoa, raisins, and sometimes herbs. A sweet-spice-savoury combination that makes this one of the most distinctive pasta preparations in all of Italy. Dressed only with melted butter and grated Carnia smoked ricotta (ricotta affumicata), the simplicity of the dressing allows the complex filling to speak. Origin is mysterious but the spice combination suggests medieval connections to Venetian trade routes.

The soft version of Friuli's defining cheese dish — a near-liquid molten combination of sliced waxy potatoes, thinly sliced cipolla bianca, and abundant Montasio DOP at different aging stages, cooked slowly in a pan until everything melds into a single pliable, trembling disc. Unlike Frico Croccante (the crisp version), Frico Morbido is served hot from the pan, just set enough to slice but still yielding, with a glossy, stringy pull from the Montasio.