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G A S T R O N O M I C K V A R N E R
23
The fish are prepared in the classic ways,
depending on the type, quality and size.
They are most often sautéed, but can also be
poached, grilled or made into thick fish soup
(similar tobrodet intheneighboringPrimorje).
They are especially delicious in a mixed fish
soup (to which carp must be added due to
its
fat
content ! ) ,
with freshwater crabs and
perhaps some frog legs. According to legend, in
ancient times the exceptionally poor populace
of Lokve, a mountain settlement named for its
numerous puddles (lokve), was starving. It
occurred to these resourceful people,
not having other options, that
they could eat what they had
in abundance — frogs!
Frogs fed them and
saved them. Frog
legs, due to their
delicious
flavor, continued to remain on the menus of the
local people people, as well as the rest of Gorski
Kotar. Today, frog legs areconsideredagourmet
experiencedelicacy. In commemoration of the
ancient legend, every year at the end of April,
“Frog Night” is organized in Gorski Kotar
(Lokve). The hind
legs of the frog
are most often
eaten fried (with or
without crumbs), but
in Lokve they are prepared
in a special way. First First,
an egg white is beaten until stiff,
which is then mixed with an unbeaten
egg yolk and several drops of oil. The frog legs
are dredged in flour, dipped in the egg mixture
and fried in oil.
However, according to the local housewives,
the best way to prepare frog legs is the way that
they prepare them for their families: sautéed
together with snails and mushrooms and
served with local potatoes, pasta or polenta and
a salad from wild dandelion greens, potatoes,
bacon and hardboiled eggs.