Francesinha
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.jpg) The francesinha on a saucy dish | |
| Type | Sandwich |
|---|---|
| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | Porto, Portugal |
| Created by | Daniel David de Silva |
| Main ingredients | bread, ham, linguiça, fresh sausage (chipolata), steak or roast meat, cheese, spiced tomato-and-beer sauce |
| Variations | Egg atop, different meats or vegetarian substitutes inside, fried potato chips aside |
Francesinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ], meaning little French girl or little French woman[1][2]) is a Portuguese sandwich, originally from Porto, made with layers of toasted bread and assorted hot meats such as roast, steak, wet-cured ham, linguiça, or chipolata, over which sliced cheese is melted by the ladling of a near-boiling tomato-and-beer sauce called molho de francesinha.[1][2] It is typically served with fried potato chips.
History
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The francesinha is a 20th-century creation attributed to Daniel David de Silva[3] who, upon returning to Portugal from time spent in France and Belgium, tried to adapt the croque monsieur to Portuguese tastes.[1] In 1953, he introduced a sandwich with local meats and a custom beer-and-tomato sauce at A Regaleira, a restaurant in Rua do Bonjardim in Porto. The francesinha quickly became a popular dish, and although it remains associated with the city, it can now be found throughout Portugal.
Variations
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There is no standard recipe for the francesinha. Variations of the original include fillings such as pork, chicken, pastrami, tuna, cod, and vegetarian options. Common varieties include the francesinha especial (special francesinha), which is topped with a fried egg and/or served with fried potato chips, and the breadless pica-pau, in which a steak is cut into bite-sized pieces and covered with sauce.[2]
The francesinha poveira is a form distinctive to Póvoa de Varzim, north of Porto, created in the early 1960s. It uses different bread and sauce to form a sandwich that can be eaten by hand.[4]
Sauce
[edit]Francesinha sauce varies, with each establishment having its own variation. The only common ingredient is beer.[1] Most, though not all, sauces are tomato-based and vary in their degree of spiciness; the colour is usually red or orange.
Reception
[edit]The Daily Meal included the francesinha in its article "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of".[5]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Gould, Kevin (8 August 2016). "Porto's francesinha sandwich is a gut buster". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Cardoso, Izabela (20 October 2019). "The Francesinha Is Portugal's Most Iconic Sandwich". Business Insider. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ ""Porque não chamar-lhe francesinha?" A história de como foi batizada a famosa iguaria portuense". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ↑ Controlinveste. "As francesinhas à moda da Póvoa - DN". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ Dan Myers (27 February 2015). "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
Further reading
[edit]- Izabela Cardoso (20 October 2019). "Portugal's most iconic sandwich was named after a French traveler in the 1950s". Business Insider.
External links
[edit]
- (in Portuguese) Francesinhas - History of the Francesinha Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Portuguese) Francesinha Póveira
- (in Portuguese) Irmandade da Francesinha - Ranking and evaluation of Francesinhas
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