Lecho from zucchini for the winter: recipes

Many housewives are very fond of zucchini, as they are easy to prepare and can be combined with a large number of other ingredients. By themselves, zucchini has a neutral taste. It is thanks to this that they easily absorb the aroma and taste of other components of the dish. These vegetables can be cooked in a variety of ways. Most often they are fried, stewed and baked. But experienced housewives know that you can also make very original and tasty preservation for the winter from zucchini. They are salted and make a wide variety of salads. Now we will consider options for preparing lecho from zucchini for the winter. Such a preparation will definitely not leave anyone indifferent.

Secrets of cooking zucchini lecho

Before starting work, you need to know some of the subtleties of how to cook a delicious lecho:

1. Old fruits for cooking lecho for the winter will not work. It is better to take young zucchini, which weigh no more than 150 grams. They should have a fairly thin skin, as well as soft and tender flesh. Fruits with seeds for harvesting are also not suitable. If you are using vegetables from your own garden, it is best to harvest them just before cooking. And those who buy zucchini in the market or in the store should pay attention to their appearance. Fresh fruits should not have any flaws.
2. The recipe for zucchini lecho is not much different from the classic bell pepper and tomato lecho. The list of ingredients also includes tomatoes, peppers, garlic, carrots and onions. You don’t need any fancy spices. Best of all, this dish is complemented by salt, black peppercorns, sugar, table vinegar and bay leaves.
3. A mandatory ingredient is table vinegar. It is he who saturates the tasteless zucchini with a pronounced aftertaste, and also acts as a preservative.
4. Remember that lecho is not zucchini caviar, but something resembling a salad. So the vegetables do not need to be chopped very much so that the dish does not turn into porridge. Zucchini is usually cut into cubes or thin slices. The width of each piece should be from 50 mm to 1,5 cm.

   

5. But still, liquid ingredients must be present in the dish. To do this, the tomatoes must be chopped with a meat grinder or a fine grater. You can also use a blender. Some housewives prefer to use a grater. This, of course, is the longest way, but, in this way, the whole skin will remain on the grater and will not fall into the dish. But, you can also pre-peel the fruit, and then chop them with a blender.
6. In order for the liquid mass of the workpiece to succeed, it is necessary to use only fleshy and juicy tomatoes. Many pass them through a sieve to make the mass as homogeneous as possible. In addition, thanks to this method, the skin does not get into the finished dish. If you do not have so much time, you can first remove the skin from the tomatoes. To do this, the prepared fruits are dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes. After that, they are taken out and immediately placed under a stream of cold water. Thanks to such procedures, the skin is very easily separated.

   

7. The amount of bell pepper in the finished dish should not prevail. Still, the main ingredient is zucchini. Any bell pepper will do, but it is better to use red fruits. They will give the dish a more beautiful and bright color.
8. Our grandmothers always sterilized lecho. Now modern housewives prepare all the ingredients of the dishes more carefully, so you can do without sterilization. The main thing is to wash all the ingredients very carefully. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse all jars and lids, after which they are boiled or put in a preheated oven for a while.

Lecho from zucchini for the winter

Required components:

• 2 kg zucchini;
• 600 g carrots;
• 1 kg of red bell pepper;
• 600 g of onions;
• 3 kg of ripe red tomatoes;
• 3 Art. l sugar;
• 2 Art. l salts;
• 4 tbsp. l. table vinegar;
• 140 ml of vegetable oil.

Now let’s take a closer look at how to cook lecho from zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. The first step is to prepare all the dishes. Banks can be chosen absolutely any size. But experienced housewives recommend using exactly liter containers. In such dishes, the workpiece will remain hot longer, due to which pasteurization occurs.

The preparation of containers does not end there. After such a thorough washing, it is also necessary to sterilize the dishes. Each hostess does it in her usual way. Then the jars are laid out on the prepared towel with the hole down.

First prepare the tomatoes. They are thoroughly washed, cut in half and cut off the place where the stalk connects to the tomato. Then the tomatoes are crushed using a meat grinder or other device. The resulting mass is poured into the prepared pan and put on a slow fire. In this form, the tomatoes are boiled for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, while the first ingredient is languishing on the stove, you can prepare the onions. It must be peeled, washed in cold water and cut into strips or half rings. Then wash, peel and cut the pepper. Remember that the pieces should not be too small. Vegetables can be cut into cubes or strips. Carrots are also peeled, washed and grated on a medium-sized grater. But, you can also cut the vegetable into strips. Now we can proceed to the most important ingredient. First of all, the stalks are removed from the zucchini. Then the fruits are washed and peeled, if necessary.

Next, each zucchini is cut into 4 parts along the fruit and each cut into slices. All this time it is necessary to observe the tomatoes that are cooked on the stove. In 20 minutes, the mass boils down a little. Now sugar, salt and vegetable oil are added to it according to the recipe. After that, grated carrots are placed in the pan and mixed thoroughly. In this form, the mass should be stewed for 5 minutes.

After the time has elapsed, add the onion to the pan and stew the vegetables again for 5 minutes. Then, every five minutes, pepper and zucchini are added to the dish. Stir the mixture from time to time. Now the dish should be stewed for about 30 minutes.

When 5 minutes remain until the end of cooking, it is necessary to pour table vinegar into the workpiece. After the time has elapsed, the fire is turned off and immediately they begin to pour the lecho into prepared jars. The containers are closed with sterilized lids and inverted. After that, the workpiece must be covered with a warm blanket and left in this form until the lecho has completely cooled down. Further, lecho with zucchini and pepper is placed in a cellar or other cool room for the winter.

Many housewives prepare a delicious lecho of zucchini with parsley or dill. They also need to be thoroughly washed, chopped with a knife and added to lecho 10 minutes before complete cooking. During this time, the workpiece will absorb all the aroma and taste. Also, each hostess can change the amount of ingredients at her discretion and taste.

Conclusion

Of course, there are different recipes for zucchini lecho for the winter. But mostly this dish is prepared with bell peppers, tomatoes and carrots. This recipe for zucchini lecho is considered the best. Each housewife can independently choose additional ingredients that will only make the taste of the workpiece better. Pepper and zucchini lecho is a delicious dish that has been very popular for many years. Try to cook at least once, and it will become your annual tradition.