Bowl of Frog Soup
(click to enlarge)

Frog Soup


Uruguay / Argentina   -   Sopa de Rana
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6 soup
***
2-1/2 hrs
Yes		 Frogs are much in demand in Uruguay and Argentina, and this elegant soup is an example of their use. The pattern recipe calls for a dozen whole frogs - not likely in Los Angeles.

2
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5
3
2
2
1
1
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6
4
3
3
2
1
1
2/3
1/3
2
3
#
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oz
cl
oz
T


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oz

T
c
c
c
t
t
T
T
T
Frog Legs (1)  
-- Aromatics
Onion, red
Garlic
Carrot
Celery leaves
Parsley Sprig
Basil Sprig
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Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Olive Oil
Chicken Stock
Water
Wine, white
Fish Sauce (2)
Salt
Pepper
Bread Crumbs
Crême Fraiche (3)
Prep   (20 min)
  1. Thaw FROG LEGS, separate into individual legs and cut off bony toes if present. Rinse in several changes of water.
  2. Chop Onion medium. Crush GARLIC and chop medium. Chop CARROT small. Chop Celery Leaves medium. Mix all with Parsley and Basil sprigs.
  3. Chop TOMATOES fairly small. Chop MUSHROOMS medium. Mix.
Run   (2 hrs)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan or heavy bottomed sauce pan heat Olive Oil and stir in Onion mix. Fry stirring over moderate heat until vegetables are lightly browned.
  2. Stir in Tomato mix and fry stirring until Tomatoes are well softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in Chicken Stock, Water and Wine. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
  4. Strain Soup, discarding all solids.
  5. Return soup to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir in Fish Sauce, Salt, Pepper and Frog Legs. Cover and set to a simmer.
  6. When the Frog Legs are done, (20 to 25 minutes depending on size) they will become disjointed and the meat will start to fall from the bones. At this point, strain the soup again and set the legs aside to cool some. When you can handle them, pick off all the meat and shred it fine. Return the meat to the soup and discard the bones.
  7. Bring back to a simmer. Stir in Bread Crumbs, then take off the heat and stir in Crême Fraiche.
  8. Serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Frog Legs:

      One Asian market here in Los Angeles does sometimes have live frogs, but is unlikely to have 10 of them. We just don't have frog infested swamps here - so I have made some adjustments (see Note-2). For further notes and possibilities see Note-4). Look in Asian markets in the frozen food cases for bags of Frog Legs. For details see our Frogs page.

  2. Fish Sauce:

      Since we don't have the backs and liver of the frogs as called for in the pattern recipe, I use more Chicken Stock and less Water. Since Frog has a bit more of a fish flavor than chicken, I use a little Thai fish sauce to correct for that. For details see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  3. Crême Fraiche:

      This lightly soured cream can be found in places like Trader Joe's (sometimes). It is more stable in heat than regular sour cream, but the regular kind can be used with care.

  4. Serving:

      This recipe is a little tedious (disassembling and shredding the frog legs) but it can be made and refrigerated even days ahead - up to stirring in the Cream. As given, the recipe will provide an elegant soup course for about 6, but it can be adapted easily as a main dish soup or for buffet service. I cube about 12 ounces of White Rose potatoes about 1/2 inch and simmer them until done. These are stirred in a little before serving. For color I add 1/2 cup frozen peas. These go in just before serving so their color is still bright green. See Photo. Actually, I like this version better than without the potatoes and peas.

  5. Historical:

      I originally found this recipe in Argentina Cooks! (ac!37 ©2001), but later found the exact same recipe in the earlier South American Cookbook (sacb5 1939) attributing it to Uruguay. The only difference was increasing the number of mushrooms from 2 to 4, presumably to negate copyright.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
aof_frog1 130527 sacb5 / ac!37   -   www.clovegarden.com
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