Lecho of bell peppers and carrots for the winter

How often in winter we are saved by homemade preparations. When there is absolutely no time for cooking, you can simply open a jar of delicious and satisfying salad, which will serve as a side dish for any dish. As such a preparation, you can cook a lecho salad loved by everyone. It consists mainly of tomatoes and bell peppers. In this article, we will consider options for preparing a workpiece with the addition of carrots. We will also experiment and instead of tomatoes, we will try to add tomato juice to one of the recipes. Let’s see what wonderful blanks we get.

The choice of products for lecho with carrots for the winter

To prepare a delicious and fragrant preparation, you need to listen to experienced craftsmen. Let’s start with the choice of ingredients. The taste and appearance of lecho depends on the choice of vegetables. Tomatoes for harvesting must be fleshy and juicy. Such vegetables do not have any damage and stains. You can use tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes. Such a product must be of high quality and fresh, otherwise you can just spoil the dish.

Sweet bell pepper can be absolutely any color scheme. But most often it is red fruits that are used. They should not be too soft and overripe. Only dense and large peppers will do. Herbal lovers can add fresh or dry herbs to the lecho. Parsley, cilantro, marjoram, basil and thyme are commonly used.

The process of preparing a classic lecho

I am very glad that cooking lecho does not require much time and effort. The classic version of lecho is prepared as follows:

1. First you need to prepare the vegetables. Sweet bell peppers are washed and all seeds and core are removed. Then the vegetables are cut in any convenient way (half rings, large slices or straws).
2. We remove the stalks from the tomatoes, and then remove the skin. To do this, the tomatoes are dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes, after which they are immediately placed under cold water. The skin will now peel off easily. Then the tomatoes are mashed using a blender or meat grinder. Some do not grind the tomatoes, but simply cut them into pieces. In this case, lecho will look like a thick appetizer or salad, and with mashed potatoes it will look more like a sauce.
3. Then sunflower oil and grated tomatoes are poured into a large container. The mixture is simmered for 15 minutes. After that, chopped bell pepper is added to the pan and the mass is brought to a boil.

   

4. After the dish boils, you can add salt, spices and granulated sugar to the lecho. After that, the workpiece is stewed for half an hour over low heat. Stir the salad from time to time.
5. Five minutes before full readiness, greens and vinegar are added to the lecho.
6. After 5 minutes, turn off the fire and begin to pour the salad into jars.

Thus, the classic version of lecho is being prepared. But most housewives are accustomed to adding other ingredients to it. For example, lecho is often prepared with onions, carrots, garlic, eggplant, hot peppers, zucchini and celery. In addition, there are recipes for harvesting with honey, horseradish, cloves and cinnamon.

Proper preservation

In principle, canning lecho is no different from canning other preparations for the winter. To keep the salad well, you need to wash the jars well using baking soda. Then the containers, together with the lids, are sterilized in any way convenient for you and dried on a towel. Pour hot salad into dry sterilized jars and immediately roll up the workpiece with lids.

Rolled jars are turned upside down with lids and wrapped well. In this form, the lecho should stand for at least 24 hours until the workpiece has completely cooled down. If the jars do not swell and do not leak, then the process went well and the preservation will be stored for a long time.

Lecho recipe with carrots

You can prepare a delicious lecho from the following ingredients:

• bell pepper (preferably red) – 2 kg;
• carrots – half a kilogram;
• soft fleshy tomatoes – 1 kg;
• medium-sized onions – 4 pieces;
• garlic – 8 medium cloves;
• one bunch of cilantro and one bunch of dill;
• granulated sugar – a glass;
• ground paprika and black pepper – one teaspoon each;
• sunflower oil – a glass;
• table 9% vinegar – 1 large spoon;
• edible salt to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Tomatoes are thoroughly washed under running water and peeled. How this can be done is discussed above. Then each tomato is cut into 4 slices.

   

2. Sweet bell peppers are also washed and the stalk is cut out. Then all the seeds are removed from the pepper and cut into 4 slices, like tomatoes.

   

3. Onions are peeled, washed under running water and cut into thin half rings.
4. Carrots are peeled, washed and cut with a knife into small sticks.

   

5. To prepare lecho, you need to prepare a cauldron or a pan with a thick bottom. Sunflower oil is poured into it and onions are fried on it. When it loses color, chopped carrots are added to it.
6. Next, chopped tomatoes are thrown into the pan. At this stage, you should salt the dish.
7. In this form, lecho is stewed for about 15 minutes over medium heat. If the tomatoes are very dense or not quite ripe, then the time should be extended by another 5 minutes.
8. After that, chopped bell pepper is added to the salad and the same amount is stewed under the lid.
9. Then the lid is removed, the fire is reduced to a minimum and the dish is simmered for another 10 minutes. Lecho can stick to the bottom, so do not forget to stir the salad regularly.

   

10. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic. It can also be passed through the press. Garlic is thrown into the pan along with vinegar and sugar.
11. Lecho is boiled for another 20 minutes, after which washed and finely chopped greens, ground paprika and pepper are added. In this form, the salad languishes for the last 10 minutes.
12. Now you can turn off the stove and start rolling cans.

Lecho with carrots and tomato juice

To prepare the salad, we need:

• high-quality tomato juice – three liters;
• Bulgarian pepper (preferably red) – 2,5 kilograms;
• garlic – one head;
• carrots – three pieces;
• parsley greens – one bunch;
• fresh dill – one bunch;
• hot red pepper – one pod;
• table vinegar – 4 tablespoons;
• granulated sugar – 100 gram;
• sunflower oil – 200 milliliters;
• edible salt – 2,5 tablespoons.

Preparation of lecho from carrots, tomato juice and pepper:

1. Bulgarian pepper is washed, cleaned of seeds and the stalks are removed. Then it is cut into medium-sized strips.
2. Carrots are peeled, washed and rubbed on the largest grater.
3. Parsley and dill are washed under running water and finely chopped with a knife.
4. Hot peppers are de-seeded. Garlic is peeled and, together with hot pepper, is passed through a meat grinder.
5. Then all the prepared ingredients are transferred to a large saucepan and poured with tomato juice. Leave only vinegar (we will add it at the end).
6. The pan is put on a small fire and boiled under the lid for half an hour. From time to time, the salad is stirred so that it does not stick to the walls and bottom.

   

7. 5 minutes before full readiness, pour vinegar into the lecho and bring the salad to a boil again. Then the pan is removed from the heat and immediately begin to pour the workpiece into jars.

This option of lecho from bell pepper and juice is prepared even faster, since it is not necessary to sort out and peel each tomato. Some, in general, use diluted tomato paste instead of juice. But, it is better to prepare a salad with tomatoes or, in extreme cases, with tomato juice.

Conclusion

In winter, there is nothing better than home-cooked lecho from tomatoes and bell peppers. You already know how to cook lecho. As you can see, you can add not only the usual ingredients to it, but also carrots and onions, garlic and various herbs, ground paprika and even cloves. Thus, the salad becomes more fragrant and tasty. Be sure to please your family with homemade lecho with onions and carrots.