learning to make the portuguese francesinha.

back during our spring break trip to portugal, caitlin and i tried out our first airbnb experience.

airbnb experiences are relatively new and allow individuals to plan tours or activities in their city. you can sign up just like you would any other tour, and reviews are posted as well.

for our first experience we picked a less expensive option-- in case it was a disaster!

so we signed up for a class to learn how to make the francesinha, porto's famous (or infamous) sandwich.

the francesinha is a sandwich that is not for the faint of heart.

it basically has everything and the kitchen sink in it.

it was developed in the 1960's after a portuguese man returned from france and tried to adapt the croque monsieur to local tastes.

the sandwich has ham, sausage, steak and plenty of cheese. and a fried egg. it's also drowned in sauce.

we met up with a porto local for a lesson.

all of our ingredients

start the sauce first

all the alcohol that goes in the sauce

caitlin cutting thick slices of bread

joana getting our sandwiches started.

ham and mortadella added (and a slice of cheese)

now the steak and sausage

more cheese and the top piece of bread

the sandwich needs a 'cheese dress' to keep the bread from getting soggy from the sauce

the sandwich goes in the oven to melt all the cheese.

frying some eggs. in oil. *gasp*

you get a beer to wash down your sandwich.

add the egg to the top!

ready for sauce.

first step in eating? cut it in half.

having a little instagram fun before eating.

i managed to eat half!
i considered that a success.
especially since it was like 10:45 am.

this experience costs 19 euro per person and lasts less than two hours. i thought it was a good way to learn a little about local culture that we wouldn't have just by ordering the sandwich somewhere.

the sandwich was good, but it is a lot. and, for me, eating it once was probably enough.

but, if you ever find yourself in porto, i recommend joana's experience. you can find it linked above in the post.

bon appetit!