Lecsó (Hungarian Pepper Stew)

lecsop

This week something unusual has happened. I prepared a dish posted by a blogger a long time ago only to see the same person post one of my recipes two days afterwards. I talk of course about Zsuzsa (Zsuzsa is in the kitchen) who has made a real piece of art (see it here) out of my Poppy Seed and Chocolate Cake recipe and moreover called her post “Birthday Cake for Sissi”. (I felt as if it was my second birthday this year…). Zsuzsa had no idea that two days before I had prepared the famous Hungarian pepper stew (lecsó), following her recipe. I haven’t told her of course because I wanted to make a small surprise, so here it is: Zsuzsa’s extraordinary, genuine Hungarian lecsó.

Of course this is another dish I prepared  using the peppers brought by my friend from Hungary (I have used some of them in Hungarian Stuffed Peppers) and I hope this “detail” made my lecsó even more Hungarian. In case you have never heard about it, lecsó (pronounced letcho) is a big Hungarian  classic. Just like stuffed pepper it calls for long light yellow sweet peppers with thin skin. Lecsó is usually served either with sausage (according to my Hungarian friend the best ones are the smoked, but not dried sausages, such as Hungarian, Polish or German) or with beaten eggs which are incorporated into the lecsó at the end. It is also often cooked together with rice, but I wanted to have it with some crunchy baguette and fried sausage, so I have skipped the rice. Lecsó can also be an excellent side dish served with meat or fish.

I haven’t really modified Zsuzsa’s recipe, but slightly changed the amounts. I found it simply perfect, especially the addition of garlic which doesn’t always figure in other Hungarian recipes. This lecsó is light and low-fat (just like Stuffed Peppers) and proves that Hungarian cuisine doesn’t have to be heavy and greasy (I know some people think this). Make sure you cook more than you think you’ll eat because the smell and the taste are so irresistible, second helpings have absolutely to be included in your estimates. Thank you, Zsuzsa, for this amazing recipe.

TIPS: Zsuzsa doesn’t peel the tomatoes and I couldn’t decide whether I should peel them or not (I usually do when cooking tomatoes). Finally I peeled half of the tomatoes, but next time I will not peel them at all. The skin adds more flavour. I know that some people have problems with tomatoes skin, so if you are one of these, peel all the tomatoes.

If you want your lecsó hot, add some hot chili powder (see below). Otherwise you can use only sweet paprika.

Preparation: around 1 hour

Ingredients (serves 2, with second or third helpings):

6 medium tomatoes

6 long yellow peppers

2 long red peppers

4 tablespoons oil (I used duck fat instead)

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

3 tablespoon sweet paprika (I have put 1 tablespoon hot paprika and 2 tablespoons sweet paprika)

salt, pepper

(300-400g smoked sausages (sliced) or 4 beaten eggs)

Peel the garlic and chop it finely.

(If you want to peel the tomatoes, put them in boiling water for a minute. Take them out with a slotted spoon and put into cold water. Peel them.) Chop the tomatoes roughly.

Core the peppers, remove the stalks and cut them into slices.

Chop the onion and fry it in fat until soft and translucent.

Remove from the heat, add the remaining ingredients.

Simmer covered until the peppers are soft, checking if you need to add more water.

If you want to serve it with sausages, I strongly advise frying or grilling them before. Then slicing them. It gives much more taste to the lecsó. Add the sausage slices, cook for 10 more minutes and serve.

If you want to serve it with eggs, beat the eggs in a bowl and simply pour them into the pan with lecsó, stir a bit and serve when the eggs are set.

 

 

41 Replies to “Lecsó (Hungarian Pepper Stew)”

    1. Thank you, Green Dragonette. Yes, you mix the eggs, pour them at the end of the cooking process and then stir them like scrambled eggs. (Apparently not the most presentable dish but delicious… I have never made it myself).

  1. What a nice story…it’s always exciting when another blogger makes one of your dishes. This one looks very good, and something different for me. It makes me really wish my husband liked peppers!

    1. Thank you so much, Lyndsey. You can make it, freeze it in individual portions and then warm it up only for yourself. It’s very good reheated.

  2. The addition of eggs in the end sure is interesting!
    I think the only hungarian stew I’ve tried is the Goulash so I should really try out more hungarian recipes. 🙂

    1. Thank you, Sylvia. Goulash is fantastic, but rather an autumn of winter dish. This one is very light and summery.

  3. Looks so delicious! I am on the lookout for fresh Hungarian peppers at our local farmer’s markets. When I find them I want to try your stuffed peppers and the pepper stew :).

    1. Thank you, Tessa. Good luck and please let me know how they turned out! I hope you will love both.

  4. So many impressive Hungarian recipes … I learn something new every time you post and this classic dish is just one of your repertoire I see. 🙂

    I was also very impressed by your chocolate poppy cake which I’m seeing for the first time. The presentation reminds me of the walnut tortes that my mother used to make my brother and myself when we were little. As we grew up, we wanted the fancier store bought cakes but I know now, as my 57th birthday looms ahead, that if my mom was able to bake me that walnut torte, I would burst into tears of joy to see it.

    I would love to share a slice with a big glass of ice cold milk and my new blog friend Sissi beside me.

    1. Hi, A_Boleyn. Thank you for the kind words and compliments. I also would love to be able to share so many dishes with you (maybe a glass of champagne instead of the milk? What do you think? 😉 Better for blogging friendship celebration.).

            1. Ok, so our first meeting details are fixed: lots of champagne, a glass of milk and a cake.

  5. Hi Sissi! I love that your foodie friend surprised you with making the birthday cake, and you planned on surprising her with sharing this recipe. In the last 2 and half years, I’ve realized Food bloggers are such lovely and thoughtful folks!

    1. Hi Jeno. Zsuzsa was so kind to surprise my with such a meaningful cake. I have also realised that the blogging world is full of wonderful people.

  6. What a wonderful story – I can totally imagine your excitement when you saw her post! The stew looks delicious! I love learning Hungarian recipes as it’s really a new cuisine for me. Cheers to the blogger friendship! =)

  7. I love this Hungarian version of ratatouille or ciambatta, make it often and definitely include lots and lots of garlic 🙂 ! have had it with eggs on the side and not enriched by eggs stirred in, but don’t think that matters 🙂 ! Lovely just with a big hunk of freshly made grainy bread and a glass of soft red! It fills one up and one feels so virtuous menu wise besides!!!

      1. It’s one of the Italian style vegetable ‘stews’ – let’s face it every country around the Mediterranean has its own version of tomatoes/peppers/onions +/- aubergines, zucchini etc. Actually my favourites come from the Middle East and even Africa, buit there we are going into more depth in spices . . . Lecso is a very simple delightful variation . . .

        1. Thank you so much, Eha. You are right, so many countries seem to have similar summer stews…

  8. What a surprise! You told me you were cooking up something Hungarian , but I didn’t guess you were cooking lecso. Sissi, you are amazing! Remember? I thought you were Hungarian for the longest time – and is it any wonder I was under that impression? I am so happy for you that you have the opportunity to cook with authentic Hungarian peppers… My mouth is watering just looking at your photo: it is so tempting! Sissi, you did a fantastic job! Congratulations! I hope you remembered to have a few spoonfuls of cold lecso for breakfast. 🙂 Now I am impatiently waiting for my Hungarian peppers and tomatoes to grow, so far I get one pepper every second day. Thank you my friend for the wonderful surprise, lecso is one of my favorites. It is the beginning of lecso season in Hungary. I will never forget the aroma of lecso drifting out onto the street through the open windows as I walked home…

    1. Zsuzsa, I am so happy you like the surprise. I made it shortly after the stuffed pepper but didn’t want to post two Hungarian dishes in a row so I waited and… you made the poppy seed cake in the meantime! I think since I’m not Hungarian, using Hungarian peppers and respecting your Hungarian recipe is the maximum I can do in Switzerland to make this dish taste Hungarian 😉
      Thank you for the compliments! I will remember to have some for breakfast next time I prepare it. I can well imagine that you cannot forget the aroma of lecso from every single window…

  9. Hi! You are right, lecso is a real classic, from around this time of the year till mid September. In the “homeland” you can buy “lecsopaprika” which is smaller, sometimes not as perfect than the TV (to be stuffed) kind, but very cheap. Usually we use 2 thirds pepper to 1 third tomato and fry the peppers in the oil/fat till they soften before adding the tomatoes but of course every home has the ultimate recipe. I sometimes used to add bacon lardons at the beginning and frankfurters instead of sausages. There is even such a thing as “lecsokolbasz” (lecso-sausage) so now you can see how ever-compassing the lecso season is Hungary 😉 Since living abroad and cooking to an international crowd my recipe evolved a bit, also due to the scracity of Hungarian peppers, I add courgettes and/or aubergines along with the peppers taking it sort of in the direction of ratatouille but staying with the Hungarian seasoning, and most recently even moving the dish further south with the addition of Harissa and a tin of chick-peas (I’m trying to avoid bread where possible…)

    1. Hi, K.. I have never seen the lecsopaprika here. I love your bacon idea! I know what you mean by modifications due to a shortage of some products. I sometimes have difficulties finding here smoked sausage (or the ones I find are not good to be used with lecso in my opinion), so I fry raw “grilling” sausages and have lecso with them. Luckily sometimes I can get some German smoked sausages too.

  10. What a lovely post, Sissi. Lecsó has a very special place in my heart because it is one of the few things that I remember my Dad making for us when my Mom had her gallbladder removed. It was so incredibly delicious.
    I made it a couple of years ago at the cottage; I had asked JT to pick up some sweet Cubanelle Pepper (similar enough to Hungarian Peppers) and he inadvertently picked up hot peppers! I was kind of stuck, because there are no close grocery stores at the cottage, so I carefully cut out all the seeds and veins, but it was still so spicy hot! Our friend T couldn’t eat it, and we had to pile a ton of yogurt on it to make it palatable!

    1. Thank you so much, Eva. Your lecso story reminds me of the last time I made pork rolls filled with chili and I was sure the chili I bough were medium hot just because they were big, so I have put two or three strips of chili in each roll. In fact they were as hot as bird’s-eye-chilies and I discovered it together with the friends I invited when we bit into the first roll;-) I also brought some sour cream (luckily I had it) so that they could eat the rolls (I love hot food, even if it makes me cry, so I had no problems).

  11. Wow I just hopped over to zsuzsa’s blog to see the cake that she made, and it really is gorgeous. So wonderfully moist with the rich layers of chcolate sauce in between. Well done to you both!

    And for this hungarian stew, well done again! I love peppers, and they sound just so flavoursome and delicious here with the sausages in a nice hearty stew with tomatoes!

  12. I always feel fortunate that I am getting more than enough everytime I read a post that has a wonderful story such as yours. Because not only I’m getting a wonderful story, I am also getting a beautiful dish like this stew. Have a good week, Sissi!

    ~ ray ~

  13. Hi Sissi, you did a magnificent job of the lecso. The preparation and method is absolutely perfect, and the photo is beautiful! Such an inspiration from Zsuzsa. I have made lecso twice since I’ve been blogging, and have it on my blog. (this is before I met Zsuzsa thru the blog)
    I miss the lecso, and its time for me to make it. I also love it with eggs scrambled over it, and with the famous Hungarian smoked kolbasz sliced thin and sauteed with the peppers and onions…yumm!
    The light vegetarian version, how you made it is my very favorite way to enjoy with a nice slice, or two of rye bread:D

    1. Thank you so much, ELisabeth. I appreciate a lot your compliments. I had no idea you had posted lecso too… I must make it once more and taste ith eggs because this time I had only with some sausage.

  14. I definitely think some good crunchy baguette would do this dish more justice than rice. Maybe it’s not “the traditional way”, but I’d want something to mop that lovely sauce up to be honest. I bet the flavours are so rich and wonderful! I love tomato skin actually too… I love the texture they bring so no peeling for me either!

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