So many memories come to mind when making this dish! As a child, when I went to trattorias, there was no menu without the words frogs in sauce or fried frogs, which I never had the courage to try until adulthood, when I discovered it is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted! In Italy, eating frogs is typical of northern regions like Lombardy and particularly Piedmont, where frogs in sauce is one of the traditional recipes. Frog meat has a delicate flavor and is perfect for slow-cooked dishes, even in other Italian recipes. Frogs can be easily found already cleaned and frozen.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 4 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 145.19 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 0.40 (g) of which sugars 0.12 (g)
- Proteins 11.70 (g)
- Fat 10.64 (g) of which saturated 4.04 (g)of which unsaturated 1.85 (g)
- Fibers 0.09 (g)
- Sodium 135.83 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 165 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs frogs (Legs)
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 shot brandy
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3.5 tbsp butter
- 3.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- to taste white peppercorns
- 1 pinch black pepper
- to taste salt
- several tomatoes
Tools
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Cutting Board
Steps
First, I immediately blanched the tomatoes for 5 minutes in boiling water to easily remove the skin and use only the pulp.
Then, I diced both a stalk of celery and a white onion that we will use for the sauté.
Next, we start melting the butter, add the oil, and flavor with parsley stems that we will discard later.
The butter has melted and I add the celery, and the finely chopped onion, black peppercorns, and gently sauté for a few minutes.
I add the frogs to the sauté and carefully brown them on both sides.
Here, I deglaze with brandy or, if you prefer, dry white wine, and once the alcohol evaporates, I discard the parsley stems and add the tomatoes without the skin, mashed.
Now, we will pour the vegetable broth to cook the frog legs and to create the perfect sauce for enjoying them with toasted bread or polenta.
Lastly, to make everything creamier and tastier, I added a tablespoon of flour and let it cook for at least 40 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Finally, 5 minutes before turning off the heat, I added a pinch of salt, ground black pepper, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Honestly, I really enjoyed serving the frogs in sauce with hot and steaming freshly made polenta, but you can choose to use regular bread to soak up the delicious sauce.
The frogs in sauce are ready.
Enjoy your meal from Dadcook!
Enjoying the frogs in sauce:
Frogs have delicate meat that resembles chicken or fish. Therefore, you can enjoy them as a main course or an appetizer. The sauce makes them tender and flavorful.
Frogs have delicate meat that resembles chicken or fish. Therefore, you can enjoy them as a main course or an appetizer. The sauce makes them tender and flavorful.
Wine pairing:
To pair a wine with this dish, you can opt for a dry and fresh white wine, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or a not too heavy Chardonnay. These white wines go well with the light and aromatic flavor of frogs in sauce.
Remember that the choice of wine also depends on your personal taste, so if you prefer a certain type of white wine, feel free to choose it.
