Lecso

July 23, 2021

Lecso - kvalifood.com

Lecso is a Hungarian pepper and tomato stew, cooked low and slow with onions and sweet paprika. It is one of Hungary’s foundational dishes – served on its own with bread, scrambled with eggs, or with sliced sausage added at the end. The pepper-to-tomato ratio matters: this is a pepper dish, not a tomato stew.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 kg Hungarian wax peppers (or banana peppers), cored, seeded, cut into 2-3 cm strips
500 g ripe tomatoes (ca. 4 medium), roughly chopped
200 g onions (ca. 2 medium), finely chopped
100 g fatty bacon (szalonna), diced (or 3 tbsp neutral oil)
2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

If using bacon, cook the diced bacon in a large pot over low heat until the fat renders out. Remove the cracklings or leave them in. If using oil, heat in a large pot over medium-low heat.

Add the onions and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully translucent and soft. Do not brown them.

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the paprika and mix thoroughly to coat the onions. Adding paprika off the heat prevents it from burning and turning bitter.

Return to medium-low heat. Add the pepper strips and a pinch of salt. Stir, cover, and cook about 15 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Add a splash of water if needed to prevent sticking.

Add the chopped tomatoes. Stir, leave uncovered, and cook another 15-20 minutes until the peppers are tender and the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce. The liquid should reduce but the stew should remain saucy.

Season with salt and black pepper. Serve hot.

Notes

Serve with fresh bread, scrambled into eggs (tojasos lecso), or with sliced kolbasz or frankfurters added in the last 5 minutes.
If Hungarian wax peppers are unavailable, use cubanelle peppers or pale bell peppers. Avoid dark green bell peppers – they lack the sweetness.
The 2:1 pepper-to-tomato ratio keeps the dish pepper-forward.
The peppers should be tender but not disintegrating. Separating skins are a sign of overcooking.
Keeps well refrigerated for several days. Freezes well.