Portuguese Pastry Post-Doc: Fradinho

Fradinho, which means “little friar,” is a small traditional Portuguese tart filled with sweetened white beans, almonds and egg custard. In Portuguese feijão–fradinho is the name for black-eyed peas, and many recipes calling for “fradinhos” are calling for this sort of bean. We think it is pretty inventive to have a typically savory item like white beans in a sweet dish. If you did not know the filling was bean-based it would not be apparent, and the fradinho has more of an overall nutty flavor. The most classic place to get a fradinho is from a cafe aptly called “Pastelaria Fradinho” in Mafra, the home city of the fradinho, right outside Lisbon.

A humble fradinho