An easy recipe for homemade Portuguese lupini beans.
Tremoços (pronounced tre-mossoos) — lupini beans — are the quintessential bar snack of Portugal, the peanut of Portugal if you will. They're the perfect accompaniment to a Sagres beer and a Primeira Liga soccer match. At Portuguese summer festivals, they're sold in a no-frills plastic cup and shared with friends.
On this side of the Atlantic, you can pair them with your favorite craft beer and a Sunday game of American football, rugby, hockey, or any sport really. If sports aren't your thing, snack on tremoços while reading a book or eat as a popcorn substitute while catching up on your favorite Netflix show.
Did we also mention that they're the next superfood? Lupini beans are vegan, gluten-free, low in calories, and high in protein and fiber.
You can purchase jars of tremoços at local Portuguese and Italian markets — but we all know that food tastes better when made with love. Tremoços are an easy snack to prepare yourself, they just require some patience. Because they require soaking at the beginning and end of the process, prepare tremoços at least one week before you plan to serve them. That being said, making them is incredibly simple with our #recipe below.
For those who have never tried tremoços, they have a salty, slightly buttery taste with a bit of a crunch. Their golden yellow casing is edible but often discarded. Not sure how to remove the casing? Bite into the edge of the bean to break the casing and then pop the inner bean into your mouth.
Share your recipe results with us on social media by tagging @liveluso or #liveluso.
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 - 10
Prep & Cook Time: 1 week prep time; 1 hour cook time
Tremoços Ingredients:
2 pounds dried tremoços/lupini beans
1/4 cup baking soda
4 tbsp salt (or more to taste
Tremoços Cooking Directions:
1. Reconstitute the dried lupini beans by soaking them in a large bowl of water for approximately 1 day or longer, changing the water 3 - 4 times per day.
2. When ready to cook, place the lupini beans in a large pot with enough water to cover the beans.
3. Add baking soda. This helps to maintain the firmness of the beans.
4. Add 4 tbsp of salt.
5. Bring the lupini beans to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, check beans for firmness. They should be firm, but not too hard to eat. However, they also shouldn't be mushy, which means they're overcooked.
6. Drain and rinse the beans. Let cool.
7. Place the beans back into the pot or a bowl filled with enough water to cover them.
8. Soak the beans for 4 - 7 days. If it's warm outside, keep refrigerated. Change the water twice each day, rinsing the beans before adding new water. Taste a lupini bean. If it's still bitter, let it soak another day. Once the bitterness is gone, they are ready to be served and/or stored.
If serving right away, rinse the beans and add salt to taste. Traditionally, they are served as is, but you can also toss them in olive oil, black pepper, oregano, and/or chopped parsley. To store, keep the tremoços/lupini beans in a jar filled with lightly salted water, enough to cover the beans.
To find a Portuguese market near you that sells dried tremoços/lupini beans or ready-to-eat tremoços, visit our Goods Directory.
Once you're done preparing the tremoços, you'll need somewhere to store them. These mason jars are the perfect container to keep your tremoços in the refrigerator. Remember, no preservatives are added to the tremoços in this recipe, so they must be stored in the refrigerator if not eating them right away.
(P.S. This is an Amazon affiliate link. If you make a purchase, we may receive a small commission.)