WHAT'S PORTUGUESE FOR POISONOUS?

Bom Dia,
Thanks to J&A again for their welcome comments. I thought all swans were property of the monarch but I suppose she doesn't want a dead swan leaving outside Buck House. Similarly we were reluctant to take a live swan back on the bus, let alone slaughtering it on the campsite!
But along with the usual weird and wonderful things we buy at markets, the safest bet we thought were what looked like fava beans. Dried but kept in water they resembled butter beans and are ubiquitous at any Portuguese market. The old crone we bought from babbled to us in Portuguese, none of which we understood, but got the gist that they needed to be soaked and peeled. How hard could it be? 1 kilo was less than a euro so it wasn't a great expense. I soaked them for about 9 hours, boiled them for another 2 hours by which time they were still rock hard. So peeled them, soaked them for another 30 hours then cooked them in tomatoes and onions for 2 hours and we ate them. Still rock hard. So cooked the remainder of these for another hour but still hard. So what to do with there aiming 750 grams. Check the Internet.
These were the infamous bitter lupin beans. To avoid poisoning they need - soaking overnight, draining and boiling in salted water for 2 hours (so far so good), draining, putting in a bucket under running water for 7 - 14 days (oh dear), boiling for another 2 hours (oh dear, oh dear), finally pickling in salt, vinegar and brine. Otherwise, lupin poisoning: dilated, unresponsive pupils, confusion, slowed thought and disorientation, fever, high heart rate and blood pressure, slurred speech, incoordination, dizziness, burning dry mouth, stomach pain and anxiety.
As this is our usual Monday morning feeling I think we got away with it! The remaining beans have been disposed of safely.
We now find ourselves in Guincho, about a 10 km cycle from Cascais.

The campsite in a pine forest has great views

And the town itself although quite touristy, therefore more expensive, is still pretty. 

It has a thriving market with many interesting non-bean related stalls including a craft beer stall which has many Belgian bottles and some Portuguese craft beer called Vadia or something similar, a refreshing change from Superbock, Cintra and Sagres. 

We also discovered in a converted fort next to the beach, a Michelin starred restaurant, opened by a 3 star French chef from Paris. Well, thanks to Hull City getting relegated and an unknown benefactor called Brian, we had the funds to visit.

It is called 

Fortaleza de Guincho and was really fantastic. A number of very interesting canapés and amuse bouches were followed by foie gras (not again!) sea bass, black pork and pork cheek, a pre-dessert and a tasty raspberry concoction, then petit fours and coffee. A superb wine list and altogether a real highlight. Some of the intricacies in the courses had to be seen to be believed and the presentation was definitely three stars. It was good to see that a lot can be made of staple Portuguses ingredients given the right chefs. 

We are now a couple of bus rides away from Cintra so next post will be largely devoted to this old royal retreat and its buildings. Thanks to all for reading, including, strangely two hits from Armenia! 

Adeu,

J&P