Francesinha
{{Short description|Portuguese}}
{{redirect|Pica-pau|animated series also known as Pica-Pau in Portuguese-speaking countries|Woody Woodpecker}}
{{More footnotes|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Francesinha
| image = Francesinha Sandwich (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = A Portuguese sandwich, the Francesinha
| country = Porto, Portugal
| region =
| creator =
| course =
| type = Sandwich
| served =
| main_ingredient = Bread, ham, linguiça, fresh sausage (chipolata), steak or roast meat, cheese, spiced tomato-and-beer sauce
| variations = Egg atop, different proteins inside
| calories =
| other =
}}
Francesinha ({{IPA|pt|fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ}} meaning little French woman{{cite web |title=Francesinha, a sandwich that will welcome you to Porto |url=https://foodandroad.com/francesinha-porto/ |website=Food’n Road |date=22 August 2019 |access-date=3 June 2023}}) 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 {{ill|molho de francesinha|pt}}.{{cite web |title=Francesinha: Portuguese Sandwich Recipe |url=https://wetravelportugal.com/francesinha-sandwich/ |website=We Travel Portugal |access-date=3 June 2023}} It is typically served with french fries.
History
Image:A Francesinha (5401346513).jpg
The francesinha is a 20th-century creation attributed to Daniel David de Silva{{Cite web|url=https://observador.pt/2018/06/10/porque-nao-chamar-lhe-francesinha-a-historia-de-como-foi-batizada-a-famosa-iguaria-portuense/|title="Porque não chamar-lhe francesinha?" A história de como foi batizada a famosa iguaria portuense|website=observador.pt|language=pt|access-date=2021-11-05}} 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 although it remains associated with the city, it can now be found throughout Portugal.
Variations
File:Francesinha_encaixados_porto_portugal.jpg
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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 {{lang|pt|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".{{cite web|author=Dan Myers|url=http://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/12-life-changing-sandwiches-youve-never-heard|title=12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of|publisher=The Daily Meal|date=27 February 2015|access-date=2015-03-03}}
See also
{{Portal|Portugal|Food}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web|title=How to Pronounce Francesinha|website=Forvo|url=https://forvo.com/word/francesinha/}}
- {{cite web|title=Portugal's most iconic sandwich was named after a French traveler in the 1950s|website=Business Insider|language=en|author=Izabela Cardosa|date=20 Oct 2019|format=Video with transcript|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-francesinha-is-porto-portugal-most-iconic-sandwich-2019-10}}
- {{cite web|title=11 Things You Should Never Say in Porto|website=Culture Trip|language=en|author=Nina Santos|date=8 Jun 2017|url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/portugal/articles/11-things-you-should-never-say-in-porto/}}
- {{cite web|title=Porto's francesinha sandwich is a gut buster|website=The Guardian|author=Kevin Gould|date=8 Aug 2016|language=en|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/aug/08/francesinha-sandwich-porto-portugal}}
- {{cite web|title=Trying Francesinha in Porto|author=Brenna Holeman|date=18 Jan 2014|language=en|website=This Battered Suitcase|url=https://www.thisbatteredsuitcase.com/francesinha-porto-portugal-sandwich/}}
External links
{{Commons category|Francesinha}}
- {{in lang|pt}} [http://www.alunos.dcc.fc.up.pt/~c0007056/francesinhas/historia/historia.html Francesinhas - History of the Francesinha] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113194304/http://www.alunos.dcc.fc.up.pt/~c0007056/francesinhas/historia/historia.html |date=2007-01-13 }}
- {{in lang|pt}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070129015813/http://www.cm-pvarzim.pt/turismo/conhecer-a-povoa/gastronomia-1/na-rota-da-francesinha/historia-da-francesinha Francesinha Póveira]
- {{in lang|pt}} [http://www.irmandadedafrancesinha.com Irmandade da Francesinha] - Ranking and evaluation of Francesinhas
{{sandwiches}}