Walk along any Portuguese beach in the summer and you will hear it before you see it: a vendor with a cooler shouting “tremoços, tremoços!” over the sound of the waves. They are sold by the paper cupful, always ice cold, always eaten by popping the bean out of its tough little skin with your thumb, and they pair perfectly with a cold beer or, if you are feeling festive, a glass of poncha (recipe on the site).
Tremoços are lupini beans that have been soaked, boiled, and then leached in changes of water for several days to remove their natural bitterness, before being finished in a simple salt brine. They show up at every festa and every beach kiosk in Portugal, and while the process takes patience, the actual hands-on work is minimal, it is mostly a matter of waiting.
If you do not have a week to spare, jarred, already-leached lupini beans are a perfectly respectable shortcut: just season them yourself. Either way, they are made for snacking with a cold beer, popping each bean out of its skin.
Tremoços Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried lupini beans
- 1/2 cup coarse sea salt, divided, plus more for the final brine
- 6 cups water, plus more for soaking
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed (optional)
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Rinse the lupini beans and soak them in a large bowl of water for 24 hours at room temperature, changing the water once.
- Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 6 cups fresh water, 1/4 cup salt, and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are tender but still a bit firm.
- Drain the beans, reserving a large container. This is the most important part: place the cooked beans in the container, cover generously with fresh cold water, and refrigerate.
- Change the water at least twice a day for 3 to 6 days, tasting a bean each day. This leaching step removes the natural bitter alkaloids; the beans are ready when they taste pleasantly salty-savory rather than bitter, never before.
- Once leached, drain the beans and toss with a fresh brine of cold water, a generous 2 to 3 tablespoons salt, and the smashed garlic if using. Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature in a bowl with lemon wedges, popping the beans from their skins as you go.
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