101. Frog legs (classic French recipe)

Not long ago I made a few French dishes — a Basque-style gratin with eggs and a gratin with potatoes and bacon. I think that most of us, on hearing the words "French cuisine", picture not gratin at all but frog legs. They say they taste like fish or chicken and are eaten fried or stewed, breaded and spiced.

Following the lead of respected French gourmets, I dared to cook that very classic French recipe for real frog legs (and, jumping ahead, I don't regret it). Details and photos, as usual, under the cut.

Cooking time ≈ 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 500 g frog legs (≈ 6–7 pairs)
• 2 eggs
• 1 lemon
• 4–6 sprigs of parsley
• 1 glass of breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• salt, pepper to taste

First heat the oven to 210°C and put in a dish whose bottom is covered with olive oil. Ideally the layer should be about 1 cm deep, but it's not critical.

Skin the frog legs, rinse and dry them.

Salt and pepper them and pour over the lemon juice.

Beat the eggs in a bowl.

Add the finely chopped parsley to the eggs and mix thoroughly.

Get the frog legs ready for baking — dip them in the egg mixture and roll them in breadcrumbs.

Take out the dish with the heated oil and carefully lower the frog legs into it.

Bake in the oven until done — the breading should be crisp.

Bon appétit!

p.S

As it turned out, frog legs taste neither of fish nor of chicken. It's just that if you had to explain their taste to someone, the associations would be exactly those — fish (because of the seafood smell) and chicken (because of the tender meat and the shape). Either way, it's quite an interesting dish worth trying (provided, of course, you're not afraid of accidentally eating a former princess).

Pesto with a little added garlic goes wonderfully with frog legs. But how to make that — next time ;).