Francesinha
Francesinha — Little Frenchie — is a sandwich from Porto with a history rooted in the Portuguese diaspora. Created in the 1960s by a returned emigrant inspired by the French croque-monsieur, the dish is built from toasted bread layered with cured ham, linguiça, and steak, then sealed under melted cheese and flooded with sauce. The sauce is what defines it: each Porto restaurant guards its own recipe, but the base is a reduction of tomatoes, beer, and spirits — whisky or brandy — cooked until thick, then poured hot over the melted cheese. A fried egg caps the assembly. It is served with fries, which absorb the overflowing sauce.
Rich in protein
Filling and nutritious
Can be frozen
Great for meal prep
Traditional recipe
Authentic taste
Ingredients 4 servings
- 8 thick slices white bread (sandwich loaf)
- 400g rib-eye or sirloin steak, cut into 4 thin slices
- 4 linguiça or smoked sausage links, halved lengthwise
- 8 slices cooked ham
- 8 slices spicy salami or chouriço
- 12 slices Cheddar or Gouda, melting type
- 4 eggs, for topping
- 30g butter
- Oil for frying eggs
- For the sauce:
- 400ml lager beer
- 200ml beef stock
- 200g tomato paste
- 60ml whisky or brandy
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or piri-piri)
- 1 tbsp flour
- Salt, pepper, sugar to taste
- Fries, to serve
How to make it
- 1Make the sauce first: heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a saucepan, sauté the onion for 5 minutes, add the garlic and 1 tbsp flour, cook for 1 minute; stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- 2Pour in the beer and whisky, simmer 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol; add the beef stock, bay leaf, chili flakes, a pinch each of salt and sugar; simmer over low heat for 25–30 minutes, until the sauce is thick and glossy; strain for a smooth finish.
- 3Season the steak slices with salt and pepper; melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and sear the steak for 1.5 minutes per side, until browned; lift out.
- 4In the same pan, fry the linguiça halves for 2–3 minutes per side, until coloured.
- 5For each sandwich, toast 2 slices of bread in butter or oil on both sides (1 minute per side); layer: 1 slice bread, 2 slices ham, 1 slice steak, 2 slices salami, 2 linguiça halves, top with second slice of bread; press gently.
- 6Place the sandwiches in a greased baking dish; cover each with 3 slices of cheese and slide under a grill at 220°C for 3–4 minutes, until the cheese melts, bubbles and browns in spots.
- 7Fry 1 egg per sandwich in oil, leaving the yolk runny.
- 8Set each sandwich in a deep plate, place a fried egg on top of the cheese, and pour the hot sauce generously around the sandwich — it should pool at the base of the plate; serve immediately with fries on the side.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
