Bifana
The bifana is widely credited to the Alentejo town of Vendas Novas, where taverns once served it to travellers as a quick, hearty roadside snack. It's now a fixture of Portuguese match days — fans queue for bifanas outside Benfica's Estádio da Luz before kick-off, cold beer in hand.
Portugal's beloved pork sandwich — wafer-thin pork loin steaks simmered in a garlicky white wine and paprika sauce, piled into a crusty papo-seco roll that soaks up every drop.
Ingredients
Method
Pound the pork slices thin between sheets of cling film if not already thin.
Combine pork with garlic, wine, paprika, bay leaves and piri-piri in a bowl or bag. Marinate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Lift pork from the marinade, reserving the liquid. Pat dry.
Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Fry pork in batches, 1-2 minutes per side, until just cooked. Set aside.
Pour the reserved marinade into the same pan. Boil hard for 3-4 minutes until reduced and no longer tastes of raw wine.
Return pork to the pan and toss through the reduced sauce for 1 minute.
Split the rolls, spread with mustard, and pile in the pork with a spoonful of sauce.
Slice the pork as thin as you possibly can — this is what separates a proper bifana from an ordinary pork sandwich. Ask a butcher to slice it for you if you can.
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