You need a knife and a fork, and napkins will not suffice. Porto's wet sandwich — steak, ham, linguiça, melted cheese — drowned in a beer-and-tomato sauce, often crowned with a fried egg. It is not elegant. It is the point of a Saturday, and you should sit down for it.
The idea came back from France and was made unrecognisable on the Douro: more meat, a sauce of beer and tomato, the whole thing eaten with cutlery. The name means little French girl. The dish is entirely of Porto.
Drown it while the sauce is hot. The bread will drink; that is the point, not a tragedy. A Super Bock beside it is the honest drink.
Method
- 01
In a saucepan, simmer the onion, garlic, beer, stock, tomato passata, and the Worcestershire or piri-piri for 20 minutes, until the kitchen smells of a Porto Saturday. Blend until smooth — it should be pourable, like a thin gravy, not a paste. Taste: you want tomato, malt, and a little heat. Keep it hot; a lukewarm sauce is a soggy sandwich.
- 02
Brown the steaks and the split linguiça in a hot pan until they take color; they need not cook through. Build the sandwiches on a tray: a slice of thick white bread, then ham, steak, sausage, and another slice of bread. Blanket the lot with the mild cheese, covering every edge so nothing escapes. Work quickly; the sauce is waiting.
- 03
Slide the tray into a hot oven and bake until the cheese melts and begins to blister. Don't walk away; this takes minutes, not a roast. Set each sandwich in a deep plate and drown it in the hot beer sauce — generously, until it pools. The bread will drink; that is the point of a Francesinha, not a tragedy.
- 04
Fry an egg for each sandwich until the white is set and the yolk still runs, then crown each Francesinha with it. Put a knife and a fork on the table — this is not finger food, and napkins will not suffice. A cold Super Bock beside it is the honest drink. Now sit down and make a Saturday of it.
