1. Wash the tomatoes, cut into 2–4 parts, cut out the stem. Grind the tomatoes in a blender. If you don’t have this kitchen device, then pass it through a meat grinder.
2. We take about 2.4–2.5 kg of bell pepper (preferably small), after you wash it, remove the green tail and cut out the seed box, then there will be just 2 kg of it. Cut the pepper into pieces convenient for you. According to the classics, cut into slices into 4-5 pieces.
3. Pour the crushed tomatoes into a large saucepan for cooking lecho and add vegetable oil (1/2 cup), sugar (1/2 cup) and salt (1 heaped tablespoon). It is better to take less sugar than the norm indicated by me, although... it depends on you. Mix everything and bring to a boil.
4. Add chopped peppers to boiled tomatoes and continue cooking for ~30 minutes. Stir frequently. Finally, pour in 3 tablespoons of vinegar, stir and set aside from the heat. Vinegar is added at the very end of cooking so that it does not evaporate.
5. Jars with lids must be sterilized. I sterilize jars in a kettle. Roll up the still hot pepper and tomato lecho and place it upside down in a blanket to cool completely. Every other day you can take it to the basement or other cool place. Lecho salad can be stored for 1 to 2 years!
Bon appetit!
In order for the pepper and tomato and onion lecho to be as tasty as possible, you need to take a responsible approach to the first stage - preparing the products. It is better to immediately discard wilted fruits. If cut tomatoes have a certain unpleasant smell, then it is also better not to use them - these are good for sauces that can be stored in the refrigerator. You shouldn’t hope that all this will “fix” when extinguishing.
The five most commonly used ingredients in pepper lecho and tomato and onion recipes:
Bell peppers should be strong and juicy. What color it will be is not so important, but usually they take red and yellow, with thick flesh. Take onions, not red, if possible, not very “evil”.
Vegetable cutting
Vegetables for lecho: peppers and onions are usually cut into thin half rings. And the tomatoes are crushed with a blender or meat grinder into tomato puree. Although in a number of recipes it is allowed to add them to the twists, cut into pieces.
Five of the fastest recipes for lecho from pepper and tomato with onions:
Most often, they prepare a completely ready-to-eat dish in which all components have undergone good heat treatment: frying and stewing.
As a rule, vegetables are stewed in tomato juice with the addition of spices and seasonings.
It is important to remember that vinegar is always added at the end of cooking or stewing - it is strictly forbidden to boil a dish with it.
The dish must be kept on the fire for a long time, otherwise the jars may explode during storage.
In addition to vinegar and salt, sugar, vegetable oil and citric acid are added to lecho as preservatives.
Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, table vinegar is used, 9 percent.
Jars for lecho must be sterilized. After opening, store only in the refrigerator under a nylon lid.
Important :
- do not leave spoiled areas on vegetables - cut them out with a knife
In general, lecho is a dish of Hungarian, and not Bulgarian cuisine, as is commonly believed. And the recipe for traditional Hungarian lecho is very different from the usual sweet pepper salad in tomato sauce. “Culinary Eden” has prepared for you the most delicious lecho recipes - from well-known to unusual ones. Have you decided to prepare lecho for the winter? Then let's get to work!
Ingredients:
1.4 kg green sweet pepper,
600 g tomatoes,
2 onions,
80 g pork fat,
50 smoked bacon,
5 g paprika,
salt to taste.
Preparation:
Peel the green pepper pods and cut lengthwise into 8 pieces. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds, then in ice water, peel them and cut into quarters. Cut the onion into half rings. Put the fat in a saucepan and fry the bacon, cut into small cubes, until transparent, add the onion and brown until golden brown. Add paprika, stir and place chopped tomatoes and peppers in the pan. Add salt and simmer over high heat. When some of the liquid has evaporated, cover with a lid and reduce heat. Simmer until done.
This is the same recipe that is considered the progenitor of the lecho that we are used to serving on the table in winter. You can add sausages or sausage to the finished lecho, mix in and bake beaten eggs, or you can add a little rice at the beginning of stewing. But this lecho recipe is not very suitable as a preparation for the winter, unless you take a chance and sterilize the jars for half an hour. Among culinary specialists, the most common recipe is Bulgarian lecho and many of its variations.
Bulgarian lecho (without vinegar)
Ingredients:
1 kg sweet pepper,
1 kg tomato puree,
2 tbsp. Sahara,
1 tbsp. salt.
Preparation:
Cut multi-colored peppers lengthwise into wide strips or squares. Boil fresh tomato puree (passed through a meat grinder or chopped in a blender) by 2-3 times. Add salt, sugar, chopped pepper and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring. Roll into sterilized jars.
Ingredients:
4 kg tomatoes,
5 kg pepper,
1 stack Sahara,
2 tbsp. salt,
2 tbsp. 9% vinegar.
Preparation:
Pass the tomatoes through a meat grinder, cut the pepper lengthwise into 6-8 pieces. Pour the resulting tomato mass into a saucepan, add sugar, salt and put on fire. After boiling, put pepper and oil in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and pour in vinegar, place in sterilized jars and seal.
Ingredients:
2 kg pepper,
3 kg of tomatoes or 2 liters of tomato juice,
2 large carrots,
2 tbsp. salt,
3 tbsp. Sahara,
10 cloves,
2-3 pods of hot pepper,
300 g garlic,
10 peas of allspice.
Preparation:
Pass peeled tomatoes through a sieve or grind in a blender. Cut the pepper into strips. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Mix everything, add salt, sugar, spices, put on fire and bring to a boil. Cook after boiling for 5-10 minutes. Place hot in sterilized jars, cover with lids and pasteurize: liter jars - 10 minutes, 3-liter jars - 20 minutes. Roll up.
Lecho with carrots and tomato juice
Ingredients:
2.5 kg sweet pepper,
500 g carrots,
1 liter of tomato juice,
1 tbsp. salt,
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil,
1 tsp 70% vinegar,
¼ glass of water.
Preparation:
Mix tomato juice and spices, boil for 10 minutes, add bay leaf and peppercorns, cook for another 10 minutes. Then add carrots and bell peppers, cook for 10 minutes. Place hot into sterilized jars and seal.
Ingredients:
2.5 kg tomatoes,
1.5 kg sweet pepper,
1 onion,
30 g garlic,
1 tbsp. salt,
2 tbsp. Sahara,
4-5 bay leaves,
¼ tsp. ground allspice,
1 tsp 70% vinegar.
Preparation:
Pass the tomatoes through a meat grinder and boil for 10 minutes until foam appears. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Cut the pepper into strips, the onion into half rings, add everything to the tomato puree. Add salt, sugar, pepper, bay leaf and simmer covered until the pepper softens. Put grated garlic and 3-5 tbsp. vegetable oil. Remove the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, pour in vinegar, stir, pour into sterilized jars, and roll up. Wrap until cool.
Ingredients:
3 kg sweet pepper,
3 kg onions,
4 kg tomatoes,
1 tbsp. paprika,
salt, hot red pepper - to taste,
olive oil for frying.
Preparation:
Cut the onion into half rings, the pepper into wide strips. Remove the skin from the tomato and cut into slices. Sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent, remove from heat and add paprika and 1 tbsp. water. Put on fire, boil for 5 minutes, add pepper, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer, stirring, over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add salt, add hot pepper and simmer covered for another 10 minutes. Place into jars and roll up.
Lecho (without vinegar)
Ingredients:
1 kg of tomatoes,
1 kg pepper,
2 tbsp. vegetable oil,
1 tbsp. salt.
Preparation:
Remove skin from tomatoes and chop. Cut the peppers into wide strips and mix with the tomatoes. Simmer everything until soft. Add salt, boil for another 5 minutes, place in sterilized jars and roll up.
Ingredients:
3 kg tomatoes,
3 kg red and 1 kg green pepper,
1 glass of vegetable oil,
½ cup 9% vinegar,
2 tbsp. salt,
2-4 tbsp. Sahara.
Preparation:
Grind the skinless tomatoes into a puree, mix with chopped pepper and spices, cook for 30 minutes from the moment of boiling. Place in sterilized jars and seal.
Ingredients:
6 kg tomatoes,
5 kg green bell pepper,
500 g carrots,
1 head of garlic,
2-3 tbsp. salt,
75 ml 9% vinegar,
200 g sugar,
125 ml vegetable oil,
1 pod of hot red pepper,
parsley and celery - to taste.
Preparation:
Pass the tomatoes and carrots through a meat grinder, finely chop the garlic, herbs and hot peppers, mix everything and put on fire. Reduce after boiling, cook for 15 minutes. Add bell pepper, cut into slices, into the mixture, let it boil and cook for 45 minutes. 15 minutes before the end of cooking, add vinegar. Place hot in sterilized jars, roll up and wrap for a day.
Ingredients:
5 kg red sweet pepper,
3 liters of tomato juice,
1 kg carrots,
1-2 pods of hot pepper,
1 stack Sahara,
100-150 g 9% vinegar,
200 g vegetable oil,
3.5 tbsp. salt,
100-150 g garlic,
parsley and dill.
Preparation:
Cut the pepper lengthwise into 4 parts, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, finely chop the hot pepper. Place everything except the garlic and herbs in layers in a saucepan, pour in tomato juice, and cook for 20 minutes from the moment it boils. Then add chopped garlic and cook for another 10 minutes. Shortly before the end of cooking, add chopped herbs. Place in sterilized jars and seal.
Lecho is prepared not only from sweet peppers; resourceful cooks have come up with many recipes for lecho from other vegetables. We offer you several interesting recipes.
Ingredients:
2 kg zucchini,
1 kg sweet pepper,
400 g tomato paste,
1 glass of water,
150 g sugar,
300 g vegetable oil,
1 tbsp. salt,
½ tsp. ground red pepper,
70 g 9% vinegar.
Preparation:
Mix tomato paste, water and spices, put on fire and bring to a boil. Place chopped zucchini and pepper into the boiling marinade and simmer for 30 minutes. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add vinegar. Roll up and wrap until cool.
Spicy zucchini lecho
Ingredients:
3 kg zucchini,
100 g garlic,
6 sweet peppers,
1 pod of hot pepper,
1 liter of tomato juice,
2 tbsp. salt,
1 cup 9% vinegar,
1 cup of sugar.
Preparation:
Mince garlic, sweet and bitter peppers, pour in tomato juice, add salt, sugar, vinegar, stir well and cook for 10 minutes. Add zucchini to the tomato mixture and cook for another 20 minutes. Place hot into sterilized jars and seal.
Lecho from overripe cucumbers
Ingredients:
5 kg cucumbers,
2.5 kg tomatoes,
1 kg sweet pepper,
200 g sugar,
200 g 6% vinegar,
300 g butter,
3 tbsp. salt,
1 head of garlic.
Preparation:
Grind the tomatoes and peppers in a blender, pour into a saucepan, add sugar, salt, vinegar, oil and put on low heat for 15 minutes. Peel the cucumbers; if they are too hard, cut into slices and place in a saucepan. Boil for 10 minutes, add chopped garlic, stir. Place in sterilized jars and seal.
Cucumber lecho
Ingredients:
3 kg cucumbers,
1 kg of onion,
1 stack Sahara,
1 tbsp. salt,
½ cup vegetable oil,
½ glass of water,
500 g tomato paste,
black or red ground pepper - to taste,
100 g 9% vinegar.
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients except cucumbers and simmer for 10 minutes. Add finely chopped cucumbers and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Place hot in sterilized jars and roll up.
Lecho with eggplant
Ingredients:
3 kg tomato,
1.5 kg of fleshy red and green peppers,
1.5 kg eggplants,
2 tbsp. salt,
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil.
Preparation:
Grind the tomatoes in a meat grinder or blender, pour into a saucepan and cook from the moment of boiling for 25-30 minutes. Add salt, sugar, vegetable oil, cook for another 25-30 minutes. Add the peppers cut into large cubes, unpeeled eggplant into cubes, bring to a boil, cook for 25-30 minutes, place hot in sterilized jars, and roll up.
Good luck preparing your lecho for the winter!
Larisa Shuftaykina