A few facts about lecho
It is generally accepted that lecho is a recipeBulgarian cuisine. And most housewives associate it with a salad of sweet bell peppers of different colors, covered with tomato sauce. But this is not entirely true: in fact, lecho is a dish of Hungarian cuisine. But housewives cook it in different countries, and it is especially loved in Europe. Recipes differ from each other: for example, Hungarian lecho contains not only vegetables, but also smoked meat; in Russia, the recipe was adapted to those products that are more accessible to us: sweet peppers, carrots, onions, tomatoes; France has its own analogue of the dish - ratatouille. Although lecho is indeed a salad to some extent, only its winter version. We will consider the most famous options for preparing this tasty and healthy salad.
Recipes lecho from around the world
It should be noted that no matter what the recipeyou have not chosen how to prepare lecho for the winter, there is one nuance common to all recipes: immediately after the lecho is ready, it must be poured into pre-sterilized jars and rolled up. Therefore, it is advisable to either prepare the jars in advance or do this while the dish is being prepared. Then you need to wrap each jar until it cools completely. And now is the time to get acquainted with the variety of lecho recipes for real housewives, which can be prepared for the winter. Classic recipe: Hungarian Ingredients:
- Green sweet pepper - 1.4 - 1.5 kg.
- Onion - 2 heads.
- Tomatoes - 600 g.
- Pork fat - 80 g.
- Smoked bacon - 50 g.
- Paprika - 5 g.
- Salt - to taste.
Preparation:Peel the pepper and cut it lengthwise into 8 pieces. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. Cut the onion into half rings. Cut the bacon into small cubes and fry it in fat until transparent (it is more convenient to do this in a saucepan). Add the onion to the bacon. When it turns golden, add the paprika, tomatoes, pepper, and salt. Simmer over high heat until some of the liquid evaporates, stirring. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer until done. The most common recipe: Bulgarian Ingredients:
- Bell peppers of different colors - 1 kg.
- Tomato puree - 1 kg.
- Salt - 1 tbsp.
- Sugar — 2 tbsp. l.
Preparation: Chop the pepper.Make a puree from fresh tomatoes: chop them in a blender or through a meat grinder, and then boil the mass 2-3 times. Add salt, sugar and pepper. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lecho without vinegar Ingredients:
- Pepper - 2 kg.
- Tomatoes - 3 kg (or tomato juice - 2 l).
- Carrots - 2 pcs. (large).
- Sugar — 3 tbsp. l.
- Salt - 2 tbsp.
- Carnation - 10 pcs.
- Hot pepper - 2-3 pods.
- Garlic - 300 g.
- Allspice - 10 peas.
Preparation:Cut the pepper into strips, grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Peel the tomatoes, chop them with a blender or through a meat grinder until puree. Mix everything, add spices and bring to a boil. Once it boils, cook for about 10 minutes. Russian version Ingredients:
- Pepper - 2.5 kg.
- Tomato juice - 1 l.
- Carrots - 500 g.
- Salt - 1 tbsp.
- Sugar - 0.5 cups.
- Vegetable oil - 0.5 cup.
- Water - 0.5 cups.
- Vinegar 70% — 1 tsp.
- Bay leaf, allspice peas - to taste.
Preparation:Mix tomato juice with spices and boil for about 10 minutes, then add bay leaf and allspice, cook for another 10 minutes. Cut pepper and carrot into cubes, as for salad, and add to tomato juice and spices and simmer on the fire for another 10 minutes.
Original recipes lecho
"Ogonek" Ingredients:
- Bell pepper - 1.5 kg.
- Tomatoes - 2.5 kg.
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 30 g.
- Salt - 1 tbsp.
- Sugar — 2 tbsp. l..
- Ground red pepper - 0.5 tsp.
- Ground allspice - 0.5 tsp.
- Vinegar 70% — 1 tsp.
- Bay leaf - 4-5 pcs.
Preparation:Chop the tomatoes and boil for 10 minutes (until foam appears). Rub the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. Cut the onion into half rings, as for a salad, and the pepper into strips, mix the vegetables with the tomato puree. Add all the spices and simmer over low heat until the pepper softens. Chop the garlic and add to the vegetables. Pour in 5 tbsp. of vegetable oil. Remove the bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil, immediately pour in the vinegar, stir and remove from heat. "Delicious" Products:
- Red bell pepper - 3 kg.
- Green pepper - 1 kg.
- Tomatoes - 3 kg.
- Vegetable oil - 1 cup.
- Vinegar 9% - 0.5 cup.
- Sugar — 2-4 tbsp. l.
- Salt - 2 tbsp.
How to cook:Grind the tomatoes to a puree state. Cut the pepper into strips or cubes, as for a salad. Add it together with the spices to the tomato puree. Mix everything and bring to a boil. Cook for another 30 minutes. "Original" Ingredients:
- Pepper - 5 kg.
- Tomatoes - 4 kg.
- Vegetable oil - 1 cup.
- Sugar — 1 glass.
- Vinegar 9% - 2 tbsp.
Preparation: Mash the tomatoes.Cut the pepper into strips. Pour the tomato puree into a saucepan and place on the fire. Add salt and sugar to the mixture and bring everything to a boil. After boiling, add the pepper and oil, bring to a boil again and cook for another 30 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat, pour vinegar into the saucepan. Now the lecho is ready. An unusual and delicious recipe: honey lecho "The highlight" of the dish is the marinade, which gives this dish an unforgettable taste. Ingredients:
- Sweet pepper - 5 kg.
- Onion - 6-7 pcs.
- Tomato juice - 2 tbsp.
- Vinegar - 100 ml.
- Honey - 5-6 tbsp.
- Sugar — 1 glass.
- Salt - 100 g.
- Hot pepper - 1 pc.
- Vegetable oil - 200 g.
How to cook:Cut the pepper into strips (or into 4 pieces). Cut the onion into rings, like for a salad. Prepare the marinade: mix the tomatoes, vinegar, honey, hot pepper, salt, sugar, vegetable oil and put on the fire. Bring to a boil. Put the vegetables in the boiling marinade and cook for 10 minutes without stirring. The lecho is ready. Now you can put it into pre-sterilized jars, pour hot marinade over them and roll up.
Simple recipes lecho for beginners
The easiest recipe: "lazy" lecho Ingredients:
- Bell pepper - 1 kg.
- Tomatoes - 3 kg.
- Sugar — 1 glass.
- Salt - 2 tbsp.
- Garlic - 3 cloves.
- Vinegar 9% - 2-3 tbsp.
Preparation:Prepare the pepper as usual, add 1.5 kg of tomatoes and put in a saucepan. You can pour in 1 glass of water if the tomatoes are not juicy. Put on the fire. Bring to a boil and cook on very low heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Cut the second part of the tomatoes into cubes and add to the rest of the vegetables. Stir. Then pour sugar and salt there and cook for 25 minutes. Add crushed garlic and vinegar. Cook for another 5 minutes. Hungarian lecho: a simplified version Ingredients:
- Pepper - 3 kg.
- Tomatoes - 4 kg.
- Onion - 3 kg.
- Ground red pepper, salt - to taste.
- Ground paprika — 1 tbsp. l.
- Vegetable oil for frying.
How to cook: Prepare vegetables as usual.Fry the onion in vegetable oil until translucent, remove from heat and add paprika and 1 tbsp. water. Then put it back on the heat for 5 minutes and simmer with pepper over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stirring so that the vegetables do not burn. Reduce heat to low, salt the vegetables, add spices and simmer for 10 minutes, covered with a lid.
How to serve lecho
This dish can be served as a full meal or as a side dish.as a side dish. In Hungary, it is eaten as a separate dish, stirring eggs into it. This is quite reasonable, since Hungarian lecho usually contains meat products. In Germany, it is served as a side dish for fried sausages, hot dogs or grilled meat. And in Russia - as a salad for porridge, mashed potatoes or meat. Lecho goes well with rice, buckwheat, wheat porridge, as well as boiled potatoes and French fries. This type of preservation will enhance and enrich the taste of any main dish. In any case, lecho is a very tasty dish. And its bright appearance will definitely improve your mood and appetite. In addition, it contains vitamins, in particular vitamin C, beta-carotene, and potassium, which are rich in vegetables included in lecho. But in winter it is very important to eat as many vegetables as possible to make up for the lack of essential vitamins. Home canning is a great help in this matter.
