1 On a large plate, lay out your frog legs, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with a bit of lemon thyme. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate.
2 Prepare the pesto. In a deep bowl, pour your thinly sliced spring garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, then blend for a long time until you get a green purée. Then, slowly, mix in 0.6 cup (15 cl) of olive oil and taste for seasoning.
3 In a large skillet, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it's hot, add your diced potatoes and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, then season lightly. Add a generous knob of half-salted butter, cover and turn off the heat.
4 Dry your frog legs, then flour them lightly for color. In a large skillet, pour 1 good splash of olive oil and a generous knob of butter. When it's foaming, place your frog legs and cook 4 minutes on each side, then cover and turn off the heat.
5 Warm your potatoes, then mold them into small circles in the center of your hot plates. Place your frog legs and pesto around them. Quickly heat the remaining butter in the frog leg pan and pour it hot over the legs, finishing with just a turn of the pepper mill.
Note: For purists, pesto should only be made in a mortar, but in this case I used a food processor because spring garlic stems are much firmer to pound than basil, spinach or arugula leaves.
In Dombes, the region that produces 80 percent of France's farmed frogs, they're still sautéed in butter with dried garlic and flat parsley, no fuss. Spring garlic pesto is a different approach: spring garlic has a softer, slightly peppery flavor than dried garlic, which doesn't overpower the delicate frog meat. For cooking, 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat, no more. Beyond that, the legs shrink and become rubbery. The hot butter poured at the end of service is the move that makes the difference: it lightly crisps the floured skin and brings a quick nutty flavor without overcooking the meat.
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