Francesinha

The francesinha (“little Frenchie”) is the best-known dish of Porto. It was introduced in 1953 by Daniel David da Silva at the restaurant A Regaleira. Da…

  • CuisinePortuguese
  • Prep15 min
  • Cook40 min
  • Total55 min
  • Makes2 servings

Francesinha, a Portuguese sandwich of bread, ham, sausage and steak, covered in melted cheese, a fried egg and tomato-beer sauce
Estimate: ~1,100 kcal per sandwich (2 sandwiches)

Francesinha

1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter and cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, paprika and piri-piri and stir for one minute. Pour in the beer, stock and port, add the bay leaf, and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced by about a third. Remove the bay leaf, blend until smooth, and season. Keep warm.
2. Cook the meats: Season the steak and fry it in a hot pan for 2 minutes per side. Slice the sausage in half lengthways and brown it in the same pan.
3. Toast the bread: Lightly toast the bread slices so they hold up under the sauce.
4. Build the sandwich: On each of 2 slices layer ham, the steak, then the sausage. Top with a second slice of bread and cover the top and sides with 3 cheese slices each.
5. Melt the cheese: Place under a hot grill (or in a 220 °C oven) for 3–5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
6. Finish: Fry the eggs and set one on each sandwich. Ladle the hot sauce over the top, and serve straight away with chips, with a knife and fork.

Francesinha

History & Origins

The francesinha (“little Frenchie”) is the best-known dish of Porto. It was introduced in 1953 by Daniel David da Silva at the restaurant A Regaleira. Da Silva had spent time in France and Belgium, and he set out to adapt the French croque monsieur to Portuguese tastes, with more meat, more cheese and a sauce.

The recipe is simple in outline and endlessly argued over in detail. The bread is layered with ham, linguiça and steak or roast meat, covered in melted cheese, and flooded with a hot tomato-and-beer sauce. Every restaurant in Porto guards its own sauce, and the only thing they all agree on is the beer. It is a sandwich for a knife and fork, and a big appetite.

Francesinha

The story behind the dish

The francesinha (“little Frenchie”) is the best-known dish of Porto. It was introduced in 1953 by Daniel David da Silva at the restaurant A Regaleira. Da Silva had spent time in France and Belgium, and he set out to adapt the French croque monsieur to Portuguese tastes, with more meat, more cheese and a sauce.

The recipe is simple in outline and endlessly argued over in detail. The bread is layered with ham, linguiça and steak or roast meat, covered in melted cheese, and flooded with a hot tomato-and-beer sauce. Every restaurant in Porto guards its own sauce, and the only thing they all agree on is the beer. It is a sandwich for a knife and fork, and a big appetite.

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