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Francesinha

Have you ever try or heard about the typical dish of Porto? Its name is Francesinha. Daniel David Silva was the man who invented this dish and gave it its beautiful name. Francesinha means “Little French girl”. According to Daniel, the most spicy women he knows is French. Since the dish is a spicy one, he named the dish after the French girl.

When you first see this dish, your stomach might make a turn. It’s literally a heart-attack on a plate. Nevertheless, I would recommend you to try it, and if you like it, I recommend you to eat it not more than 1 time per 3 months.

There seems to be some controversy about where you can eat the best Francesinha in town. I must admit that there exist some big differences in quality across restaurants in Porto. Some restaurants are very secretive about the recipe, but on internet you can find various recipes. The ingredients of the dish can be split up in the sauce and the sandwich. Next I will tell you what they usually put in the dish, and how I once prepared it with the help of some Portuguese friends:

Francesinha recipe for 2 persons.

Regarding the sauce, you need:

• 0, 5 Cup of milk
• 1 Wineglass of Port wine (or Brandy or both)
• 1 Tablespoon of corn flour (maizena)
• 1 Beer
• 1 Tablespoon of margarine
• 1 Bouillon cube (from Knorr)
• 2 Laurel leaves
• Piri-piri*
• 2 Tablespoons of tomato pulp
• 1 Egg (optional)
• 1 Onion
• Salt*

(If you think making the sauce costs you too much time, you can also buy a ready-to-eat Francesinha sauce at grocery stores like Pingo Doce).

The sandwich requires:

• 4-6 Slices of bread (depends how big you want your francesinha)
• Ham*
• Cheese*
• Sausages*
• Steak*
• Pepper and salt*

*Quantity depends of own taste!

How to prepare the Francesinha:

1. The sauce: cut the onion in rough pieces and put it together with the laurel leaves and the margarine in a pan. Let it boil and cook until it gets brown. Then you add the bouillon cube, beer and the tomato pulp and let it boil again. Dissolve the corn flour in the milk and add this to the pan. Don’t forget to keep on stirring. Put the little bit of salt and piri-piri together and mix it with the Port wine and/or Brandy. Keep on stirring. Put the sauce in a strainer and put it back to low-fire to heat it.
2. The sandwich: cut the sausages in small pieces and flavor it with salt and pepper. The steak should also be flavored with salt and pepper. Grill the sausages and the steak according to your own taste and preference. Toast the sandwiches. Take one toast and cover it with ham and the steak, and put another toast on top of it. Then you add the sausages on the second toast (of the same sandwich). You can add as many layers and types of meat you want. Put several slices of cheese on top of the sandwich you just created and bake it at 200°C until the cheese melts. Take it from the oven and serve it with the sauce. You can put the sauce first on a plate and the Francesinha in it, or you can put the sauce aside.
3. To make the dish complete, you should add some (French) fries! Even better if you put them into the sauce around your Francesinha.

Bon appetit!

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