Whenever in Porto, you need to try Francesinha. Unless you don’t eat meat, then definitely don’t try it. This is one awesome sandwich and if you have it for a breakfast, most probably you won’t be eating till the evening. There are a few things I’ve learned about this awesome sandwich:
1. The best and apparently the only proper ones you’ll find in Porto.
2. No-one will share the recipe with you as it’s a huge secret.
3. The idea came from the French croquet-monsieur.
4. There’s a lot of meat included.
I had quite a few Francesinhas and I loved most of them. Whenever you decide to make it, remember that great ingredients make a great meal.
My personal impression – whenever I see Francesinha it makes me feel like summer. The colour, the smile on people face when they get it. We went to one restaurant, quite big in size, where we had to wait 20 minutes in line and literally everyone inside were eating Francesinha. As you can see, there must be something in this sandwich.
The big big big secret is the sauce. My recipe is totally accidental and I mixed all the recipes I found. It is super easy, so you can do it at home. You can always add some onions and garlic to the sauce (I didn’t). I hope that I have at least one Portuguese reader who will write me and correct the recipe!
YOU WILL NEED FOR THE SANWICH:
- 2 slices bread
- 1 slice roasted beef
- 2 slices ham
- few slices of sausage or chorizo
- 2 big slices of cheese
- fried egg
YOU WILL NEED FOR THE SAUCE:
- 1 small beer
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1⁄4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ onion, chopped
- 1 garlic, chopped
- pinch of chili flakes
- pinch of salt
Then start to make waffles.Let’s start with the sauce. Place all the ingredients except the bay leaf in a pot and use a hand mixer to blend it. Add the leaf and bring the sauce to boil over a low heat. When it starts to boil, take out the leaf.
With the sandwich it is super easy. Toast the bread (you don’t have to but I like it toasted). Place first slice on a place, add fried beef, ham, sausage and cover with the second slice of bread. Place cheese on top and pour over the hot sauce. The cheese will melt a bit. Place the egg on top, pour some more sauce and enjoy :).
Enjoy, Marta
