Francesinha
Encyclopedia
Francesinha 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 served with french fries
.
It is said that the Francesinha was an invention in the 1960s. 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. It is a very popular dish in Porto
and is connotated with the city, although it can be sometimes found elsewhere in Portugal. It is often a ritual meal for some that will eat it once a week or whenever they get together with friends before or after attending a football match from a local team (FC Porto, Boavista, Salgueiros, ...) A classic francesinha meal would include the sandwich, surrounded on a bed of chips doused in the famous sauce, and complimented with a fino (literally meaning thin) draught beer.
Locals will have their favorite restaurant with the best Francesinha in town, typically arguing about the quality of the sauce (a secret recipe that varies by restaurant) and the quality of the meats.
There are some sauces that can be bought in supermarkets.
There is no standard recipe for the francesinha, but anything listed below may be described as a Francesinha.
The Francesinha Especial (Special Francesinha) is a Francesinha with egg and/or potato chips.
Different restaurants in Porto
have special variations, such as:
There are several other variations of the original Francesinha such as pork
, chicken
, tuna
, codfish or even with vegetables only.
and its surroundings is 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 may be harder to find, but there are an increasing number of 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, serve varied types of francesinha, including variations served with green sauce. Francesinha standard sauce bottles have been sold in supermarkets across the entire country since the 2000s, which may be related with a growth of the sandwich's popularity outside Porto Metropolitan Area.
is a different form of Francesinha also created in the early 1960s. The main differences are in the bread, sauce and the fact that it can be eaten by hand. It can be found mainly in Póvoa de Varzim
, north of Porto
.
) because people eat it with toothpicks, pecking the small portions.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
originally from Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, made with bread, wet-cured ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, linguiça
Linguiça
Linguiça is a form of Portuguese smoke cured pork sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika.Outside of Portugal, Azores and Brazil, linguiça is also popular in Goa , Southeastern Massachusetts, Massachusetts' North Shore, California, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Okinawa, where it is often simply...
, fresh sausage like chipolata
Chipolata
A chipolata is a type of fresh sausage, believed to have been created in France and similar to an Italian sausage but usually prepared as a very thin, breakfast sausage-style link, often grilled rather than pan-fried or poached...
, steak or roast meat and covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
and beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
sauce served with french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
.
History
Croque-monsieur
A croque-monsieur is a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars...
to Portuguese taste. Other versions date the Francesinha to the 19th century. It is a very popular dish in Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
and is connotated with the city, although it can be sometimes found elsewhere in Portugal. It is often a ritual meal for some that will eat it once a week or whenever they get together with friends before or after attending a football match from a local team (FC Porto, Boavista, Salgueiros, ...) A classic francesinha meal would include the sandwich, surrounded on a bed of chips doused in the famous sauce, and complimented with a fino (literally meaning thin) draught beer.
Locals will have their favorite restaurant with the best Francesinha in town, typically arguing about the quality of the sauce (a secret recipe that varies by restaurant) and the quality of the meats.
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 and vary in their degree of spiciness. The color is usually red or orange. Different restaurants that serve Francesinha are characterized based on how good their sauce and mix of meats is perceived to be.There are some sauces that can be bought in supermarkets.
Variations
The Francesinha Especial (Special Francesinha) is a Francesinha with egg and/or potato chips.
Different restaurants in Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
have special variations, such as:
- Café Barcarola: Francesinha à Barcarola - A Francesinha Especial with prawns and shrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
; - Café Ábaco: Francesinha de carne assada - A Francesinha Especial with roast pork;
- Cascata: Francesinha à Cascata - A Francesinha Especial with champignons and creamCreamCream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...
; - Restaurante Cunha: Francesinha à Cunha - Extremely large Francesinha.
- Various restaurants in Vila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...
: Francesinha em forno a lenha - Francesinhas in a wood-fired ovenWood-fired ovenWood-fired ovens, also known as wood ovens , are ovens that use wood fuel for cooking. There are two types of wood-fired ovens: "black ovens" and "white ovens"...
.
There are several other variations of the original Francesinha such as pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, codfish or even with vegetables only.
Availability
PortoPorto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
and its surroundings is 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 may be harder to find, but there are an increasing number of restaurants, bars and cafés serving it, especially in tourist destinations like beach resorts ranging from Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz , also known as Figueira for short, is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by hills ....
to Albufeira
Albufeira
Albufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
. In Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, a number of bars and restaurants, serve varied types of francesinha, including variations served with green sauce. Francesinha standard sauce bottles have been sold in supermarkets across the entire country since the 2000s, which may be related with a growth of the sandwich's popularity outside Porto Metropolitan Area.
Francesinha poveira
The Francesinha poveiraFrancesinha poveira
Francesinha poveira, or simply francesinha, is a fast food from Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. It resembles a hot dog only in shape, but the sandwish is made up with linguiça , fiambre , cheese and mustard in Pão Cacete or Pão de Francesinha, a bread that could be described as midway between a...
is a different form of Francesinha also created in the early 1960s. The main differences are in the bread, sauce and the fact that it can be eaten by hand. It can be found mainly in Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
, north of Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
.
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 (woodpeckerWoodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
) because people eat it with toothpicks, pecking the small portions.