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Francesinha (meaning Little French Girl in Portuguese) is a Portuguese sandwich originally from Porto, made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat and covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce.
History
It is said that the Francesinha was an invention in the 1960's. Daniel da Silva, a returned emigrant from France and Belgium, tried to adapt the croque-monsieur to Portuguese taste. Other versions date the Francesinha to the 19th century.
Sauce
Francesinha sauce is a secret, with each house having its variation. The only common ingredient is beer. Most, though not all, sauces are tomato based. The color is usually red or orange.
There are some sauces that can be bought in supermarkets.
Variations
There is no standard recipe for the francesinha, but anything listed below may be described as a Francesinha.
A Francesinha Especial is a Francesinha with egg and/or french-fries.
Some purists describe that anything even slightly apart from a Francesinha should not be considered as such.
Different restaurants in Porto have special variations, such as:
- Café Barcarola: Francesinha à Barcarola - A Francesinha Especial with prawns and shrimp;
- Café Ábaco: Francesinha de carne assada - A Francesinha Especial with roast pork;
- Cascata: Francesinha à Cascata - A Francesinha Especial with champignons and cream;
- Restaurante Cunha: Francesinha à Cunha - Extremely large Francesinha.
- Various restaurants in Vila Nova de Gaia: Francesinha em forno a lenha - Francesinhas in a wood-fired oven.
- Café Atrium in Braga with a light francesinha, only one slice of bread.
There are several other variations of the original Francesinha such as pork, chicken, tuna, bacalhau or even with vegetables only.
Where to find it
Porto and its surroundings are the traditional area of the francesinha, with many restaurants and cafés serving it. It can also be easily found in several other places across the north of Portugal. In the center and south of Portugal it is harder to find, but there are some restaurants, bars and cafés serving it, especially in tourist destinations like beach resorts ranging from Figueira da Foz to Albufeira. In Lisbon, a number of bars and restaurants, such as Velho Macedo, serve varied types of francesinha, including a variation served with green sauce.
Francesinha Poveira
A Francesinha Poveira is similar to the Francesinha only in the sauce, but with a different bread and fillings. It can be found mainly in Póvoa do Varzim, north of Porto.
Pica-pau
Pica-pau is a food where the fillings of a francesinha (sausage, steak) are cut into small pieces and served covered with Francesinha sauce. It is called Pica-pau (woodpecker) because people eat it with toothpicks, pecking the small portions.
See also
External links
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