Francesinha

Francesinha (meaning Little French Girl in English) is a Portuguese food originally from Porto, made with wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat and covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 248 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 248 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Norte  - Subregion Grande Porto  - District or A.R. Porto Mayor Rui Rio  - Party PSD Area 41. ... Ham with cloves Technically, ham is the thigh and rump of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. ... Linguiça (ling-GWEE-sah) or linguica is a form of Portuguese pork sausage seasoned with onions, garlic, and paprika. ... A chipolata is a type of small thin sausage from the United Kingdom. ...

History

It's said that the Francesinha was an invention in the 1960's of a returned emigrant from France that tried to improve or adapt the croque-monsieur to Portuguese taste. Other versions date the Francesinha to the 19th century. A croque-monsieur is a ham and cheese sandwich which is dipped in beaten egg, then pan-fried or grilled (U.S. broiled), and served hot. ...

Sauce

Francesinha sauce is somewhat a secret, with each house having its variation. The only common ingredient is beer. Most sauces are tomato based, but there are others that don't have it. The color is usually red or orange.

There are some sauces that can be bought in supermarkets.

Variations

There is no standard recipe for the francesinha, but it's generally accepted to be called a Francesinha anything as described above.

A Francesinha Especial is a Francesinha with egg and/or french-fries.

Some purists describe that anything even slightly apart from a Francesinha should not be considered as such.

Different restaurants in Porto have special variations, such as: Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Norte  - Subregion Grande Porto  - District or A.R. Porto Mayor Rui Rio  - Party PSD Area 41. ...

• Café Barcarola: Francesinha à Barcarola - A Francesinha Especial with prawns and shrimp;
• Café Ábaco: Francesinha de carne assada - A Francesinha Especial with roast pork;
• Cascata: Francesinha à Cascata - A Francesinha Especial with champignons and cream;
• Restaurante Cunha: Francesinha à Cunha - Extremely large Francesinha.
• Various restaurants in Vila Nova de Gaia: Francesinha em forno a lenha - Francesinhas in a wood-fired oven.

There are several other variations of the original Francesinha such as pork, chicken, tuna, bacalhau or even with vegetables only. Suborders Not necessary complete list: Aristeidae Penaeidae Sergestidae Sicyoniidae Solenoceridae Nematocarcinidae Atyidae Pasiphaeoidae Rhynocinetidae Campylonotidae Palaemonidae Alpheidae Ogyrididae Hippolytidae Proussidae Pandalidae Crangonidae True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans usually classified in the suborder Natantia, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... Cultivated white mushrooms from the supermarket The white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), also called the common mushroom, cultivated mushroom, and called champignon de Paris in France, is the most widely cultivated mushroom in the world. ... Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of raw milk before homogenization. ... Vila Nova de Gaia is a city and municipality of Portugal. ... Wood-fired ovens, also known as wood ovens, are for cooking. ... For other uses, see Pork (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Tuna (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Where to find it

Porto and its surroundings are the traditional area of the francesinha, with many restaurants and cafés serving it. It can also be easily found in the north of Portugal. In the center and south of Portugal it is harder to find, but there are some restaurants, bars and cafés serving it, especially in tourist destinations like beach resorts. Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Norte  - Subregion Grande Porto  - District or A.R. Porto Mayor Rui Rio  - Party PSD Area 41. ... Região Norte (pron. ... Centro Region (Região Centro, pron. ...

Francesinha Poveira

A Francesinha Poveira is similar to the Francesinha only in the sauce, but with a different bread and fillings. It can be found mainly in Póvoa do Varzim, north of Porto. Póvoa de Varzim (pron. ... Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Norte  - Subregion Grande Porto  - District or A.R. Porto Mayor Rui Rio  - Party PSD Area 41. ...

Pica-pau

Pica-pau is a food where the fillings of a francesinha (sausage, steak) is cut into small pieces and served covered with Francesinha sauce. It's called Pica-pau (woodpecker) because people eat it with toothpicks, pecking the small portions. Genera Melanerpes Sphyrapicus Xiphidiopicus Dendropicos Dendrocopos Picoides Veniliornis Campethera Geocolaptes Dinopium Meiglyptes Hemicircus Micropternus Picus Mulleripicus Dryocopus Celeus Piculus Colaptes Campephilus Chrysocolaptes Reinwardtipicus Blythipicus Gecinulus Sapheopipo For other uses, see Woodpecker (disambiguation). ...

Links

• Francesinha Póveira (In Portuguese)
• History of the Francesinha (In Portuguese)
• Tourist info on Porto cuisine