Lecsó

Hungary's summer stew of sliced sweet peppers and tomatoes softened in lard with onion and paprika, eaten as a dish in itself or as a bed for eggs and sausage

Origin: Hungary

From the journey of Bell Pepper.

Lecsó is what Hungary does with the glut, and for a few weeks each August, when the sweet peppers and tomatoes come in together and are cheapest, it is cooked in enormous quantities in kitchens and in cauldrons over garden fires, eaten fresh and bottled or frozen for the winter. It is the simplest possible expression of the national vegetable: pale, thin-walled Hungarian TV paprika peppers, sliced into rings, cooked slowly with onion in lard until they slump, then tomatoes added and reduced, with a spoonful of sweet paprika stirred in off the heat. From that base everything follows. Plain, it is a vegetable dish eaten with bread. Eggs beaten into it at the end make tojásos lecsó, a lunch for a hot day. Slices of the smoked, paprika-heavy sausage kolbász turn it into a substantial supper, and rice or potato make it a full meal. It is also the ancestor and close relative of a whole family of dishes across the region and beyond, from the Serbian and Slovak versions to the Basque piperade and the Maghrebi chakchouka. Hungarians argue about lecsó as the French argue about cassoulet, chiefly over whether the tomato should be visible and whether sugar has any business in it.

Ingredients

Lecsó

800 g pale sweet peppers (Hungarian TV paprika, or ordinary sweet peppers), sliced into rings
2 whole onions, sliced
500 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp lard (or oil)
1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 pinch sugar, if the tomatoes are sharp

Optional Additions

200 g smoked paprika sausage (kolbász), sliced, optional
4 whole eggs, optional

Method

Melt the lard in a wide, heavy pan and cook the sliced onions over a low heat for 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. If using sausage, add it now and fry for a few minutes so its fat and paprika colour the base.
Add the sliced peppers and a good pinch of salt, stir to coat, cover, and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have wilted and collapsed.
Add the tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until they break down and the mixture thickens and the fat begins to separate at the edges.
Take the pan off the heat, stir in the sweet paprika, and season with salt and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes need it. Return to a low heat for a minute.
For tojásos lecsó, beat the eggs and stir them through the hot lecsó over a low heat until just set and creamy. Serve with plenty of fresh bread.

Notes

The proper pepper is the pale, waxy, thin-walled Hungarian sweet variety sold as TV paprika or fehér paprika; ordinary green or red bell peppers are thicker and sweeter and give a heavier result, though they work. Lecsó ranges from a light summer vegetable dish to a hearty one-pot depending on what is added: sausage, bacon, rice, potato, or eggs. It is also the base of a great many other Hungarian dishes and is bottled every autumn as the starting point for winter cooking.

The Gastrographer

Name: Lecsó
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Hungary
Ingredients: 800 g pale sweet peppers (Hungarian TV paprika, or ordinary sweet peppers), sliced into rings; 2 whole onions, sliced; 500 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 3 tbsp lard (or oil); 1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 1 pinch sugar, if the tomatoes are sharp; 200 g smoked paprika sausage (kolbász), sliced, optional; 4 whole eggs, optional

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control