The bifana is the Portuguese answer to the question of what to eat in five minutes at a café counter. It is a soft white roll filled with thin pork steaks that have been marinated in garlic, white wine and paprika and then cooked in their own juices, so the bread soaks up a little of the sauce on its way to your mouth. Vendas Novas in the Alentejo claims to have invented it; Lisbon and Porto each insist they perfected it.

It is cheap, fast and fiercely loved, the food of football grounds, festivals and roadside cafés, and exactly what a crowd would want at Estoril or Portimão. The only real requirement is time in the marinade, so start it the night before and on race day the sandwiches take ten minutes.

The marinated pork

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb (570 g) boneless pork loin
• 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon piri piri sauce or red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) lard or butter

Method

1. Lay the pork slices between sheets of plastic wrap and pound them with the mallet until about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.
2. In the bowl or bag, mix the wine, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, salt and piri piri. Add the pork and turn it so every slice is coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Lift the pork out of the marinade, letting it drip, and keep the marinade. Heat the olive oil and lard in the skillet over medium high heat. Cook the slices in two batches, about 1 minute a side. Move them to a plate.
4. Pour the marinade with the garlic and bay leaf into the hot pan and let it bubble for 3 minutes, scraping the bottom. Return all the pork, turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes, turning the slices once.

The sandwiches

Ingredients

• 4 papo seco or crusty white rolls
• 4 teaspoons yellow mustard

Method

1. Split the rolls almost all the way through and warm them in a 350°F (180°C) oven or toaster oven for 3 minutes.
2. Dip the cut sides of each roll briefly in the pan sauce. Fill each with 2 slices of pork and spoon over a little more sauce. Serve with mustard to add at the table.

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