Hungary · Late summer
Hungarian Tomato-Pepper Stew
Lecsó
A bright, simple summer stew of peppers, tomatoes and onions. Make it in late summer when Hungarian wax peppers and banana peppers are cheap at the markets. Serve it as a side, or add sausage or eggs and make it the main event.
Index markers: DF · From page 29 of the e-book
Ingredients
Lecsó
- 2–3 tbsp oil or lard
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1–1½ tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- 4–5 green or mixed peppers (wax peppers, banana peppers or capsicums), sliced
- 4–5 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp salt and a pinch of sugar
Optional
- 2 sliced kolbász or smoked sausages
- 4 eggs
To serve
- Crusty bread or rice
Method
- Fry the onions in the oil over medium heat for 8 minutes until soft. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika.
- Add the peppers and cook for 8–10 minutes, until softened.
- Add the tomatoes, salt and sugar (and the sausage, if using). Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, until everything is soft and saucy.
- Season well. For lecsó with eggs, crack in the eggs, or beat them and stir through gently until just set, 1–2 minutes.
- Serve hot with bread or rice.
Oma's secret
Cook the peppers before the tomatoes go in. If you add them together, the peppers stew instead of becoming sweet and silky.
Storage & make-ahead
Keeps for 4 days in the fridge (without eggs) and freezes well for 3 months. Oma made jars of it every autumn.
Australian metric measures: 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tablespoon = 20 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. Recipes may contain allergens, so please check every ingredient and packaged-food label if you're cooking for someone with an allergy.
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This recipe is one of 94 in Oma's Recipes. The e-book has the Dobos torte, the Christmas bejgli, stuffed cabbage, pierogi, Medovik and many more, each with Oma's secret.
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