Francesinha

This dish was born in Oporto in the sixties by an emigrant that returned from France. He decided to add a special touch to a French sandwich very popular throughout the cafes, the "croque-monsieur". He transformed this sandwich into something with soul that appealed to the tastes of the people from Oporto.Thus was born the francesinha which is one of the most popular dishes in this region appreciated by the rich and poor.


Here is a recipe for francesinha. If you haven’t tried it, get ready for a treat. It was actually considered one of the top ten sandwiches of the world and is a emblematic dish from Oporto. Best served with chips on the side and and a chilled beer. Bom apetite.

Ingredients (for 2 francesinhas):

4 slices of white bread

2 pieces of steak

2 fresh sausages

2 “linguiças” (a type of Portuguese sausage and optional)

2 slices of cheese

2 slices of ham

Sauce:

1 beer

1 glass of Port Wine

1 meat stock cube

2 bay leaves

1 decilitre of milk mixed with 1 soupspoon of corn flour

2 soupspoons of tomato sauce

1 soupspoon of olive oil

piri piri to taste

How to prepare:

Begin by making the sauce: mix all the ingredients together and heat on the stove until the volume has halved and you have a thick sauce, which should take around 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the steaks with salt and grill them.

Lightly toast the slices of bread.

On an oven proof dish, put the grilled steak onto the toast, then on top of the steak, the sausage, the linguiça sausage and the slice of ham. Then put another slice of toast on top, and on top of the toast the slice of cheese. Pour the hot sauce onto the franscesinha and then put it into a previously heated oven to melt the cheese. Serve immediately and with fried chips.