Lecso Hungarian Pepper Stew Recipes

LECSó (HUNGARIAN PEPPER STEW)

Steps:

• Peel and chop onion and garlic.
• Wash and cut tomatoes first into wedges, then cut it half or third. You need to end up with pieces in the size of 1 inch (1-1,5 cm) cubes.
• Wash and slice peppers. First cut them half, remove the seeds and the stem. Lay it on the cutting board and slice vertical stripes. Now, cut the stripes in half horizontally so you have 2-3 inch long (3-4 cm) stripes. If you use the original wax or banana pepper you can slice them as rings.
• Heat your stockpot or a Dutch oven to medium heat and add coconut oil.
• Add chopped onion, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add chopped garlic, stir and cook for a minute.
• Add sliced peppers, salt, and black pepper. Stir until combined.
• Add chopped tomatoes and sweet paprika powder. Stir until combined.
• Cover it with a lid and cook it on medium heat until it is boiling.
• Remove lid, stir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy and there are juices. (You can add now the optional liquid smoke if you want). Ready to be served!

HUNGARIAN LECSO - PEPPER, SAUSAGE AND TOMATO STEW

Steps:

• METHOD: In a heavy, straight-sided sauté pan or a casserole (like a Dutch Oven), melt three generous tablespoons of delicious lard.
• Prepare all peppers, core, devein and cut into 4-6 long narrow wedges.
• Cut onions into ½ moon slices. Place onions and peppers into the lard on high heat. Stir-fry until it becomes like a stew, cooked, but still firm; only about 6-8 minutes - no longer, you want the integrity of the peppers to remain in tact and the bright colours to stay. Then, add all seasonings, stewed tomatoes and paste.
• Adding the Hungarian Sausage: Take 1 pair of Hungarian Kolbász (Sausage) and slice it on the "diagonal" - the visual effect is important. You can add the slices right into the pepper stew and let it stew together if it's not too dry. Other sausage variations like Debrecen are ideal, but the drier ones, like the Gyulai sausage are exceptionally delicious. Note: if the sausage is too dry - stew beforehand in ½ cup water in a shallow saucepan for 10-15 minutes before adding it to the peppers. (Add both stewing liquid and sausage to the peppers).
• Let simmer until all flavours are melded; about 4-6 minutes. Warning - when you are stirring, use a wooden slotted spoon so as not to break up the peppers - you are not going for baby food!
• Serving Suggestions: Serve with fluffy white jasmine rice and/or fresh Hungarian white bread. You can jazz it up or play it down. However you use, it you will find it to be very complimentary with a variety of your favourite dishes.