Lecho is a tasty, juicy and colorful dish,loved by people all over Europe. It is quick and easy to prepare and store for the winter, it has a long shelf life, and, most importantly, it is very tasty and healthy.

Lecho as a dish

Usually lecho is prepared in large quantities at once,several kilograms at a time, and make preparations for the winter from it. It can be eaten as a side dish for meat or chicken, used as an additive to side dishes or as a separate, independent dish, seasoned, for example, with sour cream and eaten with bread. Few people would refuse to sit in front of the TV on a cold winter evening and enjoy a delicious dinner with a jar of lecho, hidden since the summer. This will not only remind you of the warm and sunny time of year, but also provide the body with vitamins and energy, which are so necessary in winter. People all over the world prepare lecho for the winter and everyone adds their favorite products and spices to it - it all depends on taste preferences, possibilities and imagination of the cook. Almost every country in Europe has its own lecho recipe. Bulgarian lecho The traditional recipe for Bulgarian lecho is quite simple and is based on only three components:

• Tomatoes.
• Bulgarian pepper.
• Spice.

How to choose products for lecho?

For a delicious lecho, the bell pepper must beIt must be fresh, it should not have black spots and flabbiness. The fruit must be ripe and fleshy, and its size is large, so that the walls of the pepper are dense and thick enough. Usually they take red pepper, less often yellow. Many people think that green pepper is completely unsuitable for this dish, but there are also those who believe that the color does not matter at all. It depends on the personal preferences of the cook and his principles. But if we talk about the recipe for traditional Bulgarian lecho, then it is still better to choose red pepper. Tomatoes for Bulgarian lecho should be fleshy, juicy and elastic. Flabbiness of the fruit may indicate the beginning of rotting of the fruit or its improper transportation and bruising. In any case, such tomatoes can spoil the taste of the entire winter preparation. Instead of tomatoes, you can take tomato paste. This is much easier than making puree from them, but this method cannot be attributed to the traditional recipe. If you still choose puree, remember that it should be of good quality, as the taste and appearance of the finished lecho will depend on this. Tomato paste should be diluted with warm water approximately two or three times, depending on its original consistency. The optimal proportion of tomatoes and peppers in this recipe is 3 to 2. But this parameter can easily be changed based on personal preferences.

Preparation of lecho in Bulgarian

The pepper needs to be washed thoroughly and removed.the stalk and all the seeds. You can cut the pepper into cubes, rings, half rings or strips, this will not affect the taste in any way. Wash the tomatoes, cut off the "bottoms" and remove the skin. To make it peel off easily, you need to pour boiling water over the tomatoes, then the skin will practically peel off by itself and the process of peeling the tomatoes will not take more than 3-5 minutes. You need to make puree from the tomatoes: a food processor, meat grinder or juicer will do for this, at worst (if there is no suitable equipment at all in the kitchen) you can use a regular grater. The resulting tomato porridge should look like liquid tomato paste and have a roughly uniform appearance. For further preparation of lecho, it is better to take a large saucepan with a thick bottom. Pour a little vegetable oil into it and put it on medium heat, then pour in the tomato porridge. Bring the tomato puree to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. During this time, excess water will evaporate, the amount of puree will decrease, and its consistency will become thicker. Pre-washed and chopped bell peppers should be placed directly into the pan with hot tomato puree. At first, the pepper will form a mound and will look out from the bubbling mass, but after just a few minutes, it will sink and be completely immersed in the tomatoes. Bring the mass to a boil, then add salt, sugar and crushed spices. Mix well. For this recipe, the optimal ratio of spices per 1 kg of fresh vegetables is approximately as follows:

• 1 tbsp. l. sugar without a roller coaster,
• 0.5 tbsp. l. salt,
• pepper fragrant- 1 pea,
• black pepper - 1 pea,
• cloves - 1 pc.

For the final stage of preparing the recipeyou need to leave the lecho to cook on low heat until the bell peppers become soft. This will take about 10-15 minutes. About 5 minutes before the end of cooking, you need to add half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and stir. The real, traditional lecho according to the Bulgarian recipe is ready!

Preservation and storage

To prepare supplies for the winter, you need to pour out morehot lecho in sterilized jars. The easiest way to prepare the jars is to pour a little water into them (to the very bottom) and put them in the microwave at full power for 2-3 minutes. The water will heat up and steam will come out, which will sterilize the glass. Iron lids can be boiled, and plastic ones - just scald with boiling water. Rolled up jars with lecho should be placed under a warm blanket with the lids down and left to cool for a day. If after a while the lecho does not leak, and the lids are slightly pulled inward, then everything is done correctly. The shelf life of such a winter preparation is about two years. Enjoy your meal!

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