Lupini beans

Lupins

What it is

The bitterness is lupanine, an alkaloid the plant makes as a defence; Roman and Egyptian eaters dealt with it by boiling the beans and then leaving them for days in running water. Sweet, low-alkaloid lupins were only bred in the 1930s, and most beans sold in brine are still the bitter kind, tamed.

In the kitchen

Taste one before serving: any bitterness left means the water needs changing again, daily, until it goes. Squeeze the bean out of its skin between your teeth, and never cook it soft — the snap is the point.

Goes with

Lemon Olive oil Castelvetrano olive Oregano Garlic Chili pepper Parsley

Same species

Lupin flour

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