Francesinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ] meaning 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] It is typically served with french fries.
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History
The francesinha is a twentieth-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. 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 while it remains associated with the city, it can now be found throughout Portugal.
Variations
There is no standard recipe for the francesinha. Different restaurants in Portugal have special variations, such as:
- Café Barcarola (Porto): Francesinha à Barcarola - A Francesinha Especial with prawns and shrimp;
- Café Ábaco (Porto): Francesinha de carne assada - A Francesinha Especial with roast pork;
- A Cascata (Porto): Francesinha à Cascata - A Francesinha Especial with mushrooms and cream;
The francesinha especial (special francesinha) is a francesinha with egg and/or potato chips. Other variations of the original include fillings such as pork, chicken, pastrami, tuna, cod and vegetarian options.
Sauce
Francesinha sauce varies, with each establishment having its variation. The only common ingredient is beer. Most, though not all, sauces are tomato based and vary in their degree of spiciness. The colour is usually red or orange.
Regional variants
Francesinha poveira is a form of francesinha distinctive to Póvoa de Varzim, north of Porto, created in the early 1960s. The poveira form uses different bread and sauce to form a sandwich that can be eaten by hand.
Pica-pau is a breadless variant in which a steak is cut into bite-sized pieces and covered with sauce. The name pica-pau (woodpecker) references the traditional means of consumption with small skewers or toothpicks—making the diner "peck" at the dish.
Reception
The Daily Meal included the francesinha in their article "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of".[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Francesinha: Portuguese Sandwich Recipe". We Travel Portugal. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ "Francesinha, a sandwich that will welcome you to Porto". Food’n Road. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ ""Porque não chamar-lhe francesinha?" A história de como foi batizada a famosa iguaria portuense". observador.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Dan Myers (27 February 2015). "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
Further reading
- "How to Pronounce Francesinha". Forvo.
- Izabela Cardosa (20 Oct 2019). "Portugal's most iconic sandwich was named after a French traveler in the 1950s" (Video with transcript). Business Insider.
- Nina Santos (8 Jun 2017). "11 Things You Should Never Say in Porto". Culture Trip.
- Kevin Gould (8 Aug 2016). "Porto's francesinha sandwich is a gut buster". The Guardian.
- Brenna Holeman (18 Jan 2014). "Trying Francesinha in Porto". This Battered Suitcase.
External links
- (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
This page was last edited on 24 May 2024, at 19:04