This is certainly not a starter you’d see on many American menus, but here in Europe we’re a bit more adventurous 🙂 And truthfully, if you enjoy deep-fried bites on a stick I think you could gobble these up without batting an eye!
Today we are working with frog’s legs. They aren’t the kind found in a forest, but rather aquatic ones that are farmed and in terms of food safety they are treated as you would fish. They come packaged exactly as described – you get the two little legs attached by a piece of backbone. It’s a bit gruesome to see them cut in half like that and I don’t want to know what happened to the head!
But no matter, we quickly transformed them into far more appetizing lollipop shapes. We then prepared a beignet or fritter batter consisting of flour, baking powder, ice water, salt and pepper. To cook them we dipped the lollipops in seasoned flour, then the batter, and plopped them in a deep-fryer until puffed and lightly golden.
Beignets de Cuisses de Grenouilles, Crème d’Ail et coulis de Persil Plat
The other elements of the dish were inspired by the signature dish of acclaimed French chef, Bernard Loiseau. See his recipe here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/04/bon_appetit_frogs_legs_recipe.html
First was a parsley coulis, made by blanching flat parsley leaves and blending them with a little of the cooking liquid. After passing through a fine sieve to remove any unblended bits, we strained out the excess liquid from the mixture over a double layer of muslin cloth. The flavor is potent and herby, and the intense green color is stunning on the plate!
Second was a garlic whipped cream. We made this by roasting a head of garlic, passing it through a drum sieve to purée it, and then simply folding it into whipped cream! I always think of whipped cream as something to serve with dessert, but here a savory rendition proved to be just the right dollop of light and airy on top of the crispy fritter.
Just imagine, this combination has been on Michelin star menus for decades and it’s actually quite easy to prepare! Now all you have to do is find some frogs legs 🙂
Hot Pan Behind You! 