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Most of the lecho recipes we know are non-traditional cooking options that have been improved over time. Now all kinds of vegetables are added to this salad (eggplants, carrots, zucchini), as well as apples, beans and even rice. In the classic version of this preparation, only Bulgarian pepper and juicy ripe tomatoes were present. This salad is much easier to prepare. In addition, it will be cheaper, because you do not need a large number of all kinds of vegetables. So, let’s look at how the classic lecho salad was previously prepared.
Basic rules for cooking lecho
This salad came to us from Hungary itself. It was there that skillful Hungarians once cooked pepper in tomato, after which this dish quickly gained popularity in other countries. For the classic recipe, mainly red bell pepper is chosen. Although other colors can be used if desired. The second main ingredient is tomatoes.
We prepare lecho from what is available. They can add onions, carrots, and any other vegetables there. Many people like to add garlic to the salad for spice, as well as greens to their liking. Thus, you can prepare a delicious salad for every taste and budget.
Although the Hungarians cook lecho only from tomatoes and peppers, they manage to make this dish simply incredibly tasty. They use lecho as a side dish for meat dishes or pasta. Also, Hungarians can just eat a salad with fresh white bread.
Classic lecho recipe
To prepare a traditional lecho, you need to prepare the following components:
- sweet bell pepper – 3 kilograms;
- ripe fleshy tomatoes – 2 kilograms;
- granulated sugar – 100 gram;
- food salt – 2 tablespoons;
- table 9% vinegar – 2 tablespoons;
- sunflower oil – 100 ml.
Cooking lecho begins with the preparation of vegetables. First of all, wash the bell pepper. It must be cut and removed all the seeds, as well as the stalks. Then the vegetable is cut into large slices.
Now you can start preparing the tomatoes. They are also washed and the stalks are removed. Then the tomatoes are cut into slices and chopped with a blender or meat grinder. Before this, you can remove the skin from the fruit. To do this, the tomatoes are dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes, and then poured with cold water. After such procedures, the skin will be very easy to remove.
Grated tomatoes are poured into a saucepan, after which salt, granulated sugar and sunflower oil are added there.
Now it’s time to add the chopped bell peppers. The vegetable mixture is mixed and put on a small fire.
After the dish boils, it is boiled over low heat for 30 minutes. During this time, the bell pepper should soften well. Now the required amount of table vinegar is poured into the lecho and the salad is mixed again.
When the lecho boils again, the fire is turned off and they start rolling. To do this, you must first prepare sterilized jars. They can be boiled in water, kept over steam, or sterilized in any way you are used to. The dish is poured hot into completely dry jars. The containers are then closed with sterilized lids.
Rolled jars must be turned upside down with lids and wrapped in a warm blanket. So, lecho should stand for at least a day, until it cools completely. The lettuce containers can then be moved to a cooler storage location. If all the rules are followed, the salad should stand for at least a year.
Ready lecho is used as a sauce, dressing for stew or soup, as an addition to side dishes. The dish goes well with pasta, meat dishes, potatoes, rice.
Important recommendations
To make the lecho tasty and fragrant, it is important to follow these rules:
- The taste and texture of the salad will be better if the skin is removed from the tomatoes. This advice can be ignored, but then small pieces of the skin will come across in the finished dish. A quick and proven way to do this is described above.
- According to your taste, you can add your favorite herbs to the lecho. For example, many housewives add basil, thyme, dill and parsley to the salad. You can add other vegetables (garlic, onion, eggplant and others). But this will no longer be a classic lecho.
- Do not add more vinegar to the lecho than the recipe requires. It is used only to keep the salad longer in the winter.
Classic lecho – option number 2
In our area, the recipe for Hungarian salad was slightly improved and received no less tasty, but more spicy and rich lecho. The main ingredients in this dish have not changed, just some spices and vegetables have been added.
For such a lecho, you need to prepare:
- juicy fleshy tomatoes – one kilogram;
- Bulgarian large pepper – two kilograms;
- medium-sized onions – 4 pieces;
- garlic – about 10 medium cloves;
- vegetable oil (refined) – one glass;
- greens to taste (parsley, dill, cilantro) – 2 or 3 bunches;
- granulated sugar – one glass;
- ground sweet paprika – 1 teaspoon;
- table vinegar – one glass;
- salt to taste.
Cooking lecho begins with the preparation of vegetables. The peppers are washed and cleaned first. Then it must be cut into large pieces of any shape. You can simply cut the fruit lengthwise into four equal parts. Then you can wash and cut the tomatoes. It is customary to remove the skin from them first.
Onions are peeled, washed and cut into half rings. Next, prepared vegetable oil is poured into a deep pan, heated it up and chopped onion is thrown there. Bring the onion to transparency and add the tomatoes to the dish. At this stage, you can salt the lecho and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Then, slices of bell pepper are thrown into the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the salad for another 15 minutes. Garlic is passed through a press or finely chopped with a knife, then it is also added to the container. Immediately after it, sugar and table vinegar are thrown. Simmer another 20 minutes.
At the final stage, add finely chopped greens, paprika and pepper to the salad. Lecho is thoroughly mixed and cooked for the last 10 minutes. Ready salad is poured into sterilized jars. Lecho for the winter is ready!
Conclusion
No matter how they improve and change the composition of lecho salad over the years, the classic version still remains the most delicious. It is in this form that it best reveals the taste of fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. How nice it is to open such a jar on winter evenings. This is a must-try recipe.
