Zakarpattia lecsó

What it is

Zakarpattia lecsó (Hungarian: lecsó) is a summer vegetable dish from Hungarian cuisine: sweet peppers, tomatoes, and onions are stewed in lard with ground paprika until the vegetables are soft but not mushy. This is not canned food, but a hot dish from a pan or pot.

In Zakarpattia, lecsó is made heartier. It includes chopped homemade smoked sausage (piknytsia) or smoked meat, and at the end, it is poured with beaten eggs or lightened with sour cream. It is eaten as a standalone dish with white bread or as a side dish to meat.

The best time for lecsó is late summer and autumn when peppers and tomatoes ripen in gardens and are sold at every Zakarpattia market.

History and name

The word 'lecsó' comes from the dialects of the Hungarian region of Nógrád and spread worldwide in the 1920s along with canned lecsó. Hungarian researchers believe that the dish of roasted peppers and tomatoes was brought to Hungary by Bulgarian gardeners who settled there in the 1870s.

In Zakarpattia, lecsó is primarily prepared in Hungarian communities in the lowland part of the region, but it has long become a common summer dish throughout Zakarpattia.

Ingredients and allergens

Variant: zakarpattia, with sausage and eggs

Bell pepper1–1.5 kgFresh pepper for bograch — a Hungarian heritage of Transcarpathia.

Tomatoes0.5–0.7 kgAdded to bograch at the end of stewing.

Onion2–3 pcs.Fried onion in lard or oil is a common seasoning in Carpathian dishes.

Lard2–3 tbsp.Rendered pork fat for frying deruny and hurka.

Ground paprika1–2 tsp.The main spice for bograch and Transcarpathian sausages.

Smoked homemade sausage200–300 g, optionalPork sausage with paprika (in Transcarpathia — piknytsia); it is added to lecho and bean soups.

Also: eggs (3–4 pcs., optional), sour cream (3–4 tbsp., optional), salt (to taste)

Contains allergens: none of the 14 major allergens in the traditional recipe
Depending on how it is served, may contain: milk, eggs
Diet: gluten-free

Variant: vegetable, with oil

bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, sunflower oil, ground paprika

Contains allergens: none of the 14 major allergens in the traditional recipe
Diet: lenten · vegan · gluten-free · no cooking

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is traditionally made

Serves: 4 servings · Preparation: 15 min · Cooking: 30 min

• Bell pepper — 1–1.5 kg
• Tomatoes — 0.5–0.7 kg
• Onion — 2–3 pcs.
• Lard — 2–3 tbsp.
• Ground paprika — 1–2 tsp.
• Smoked homemade sausage — 200–300 g
• Eggs — 3–4 pcs.
• Sour cream — 3–4 tbsp.
• Salt — to taste

1. Slice the onion into half-rings, the peppers into strips, and the tomatoes into large pieces (the skin can be removed by pouring boiling water over them).
2. In lard, sauté the onion until soft; if preparing with sausage, add its slices and fry together.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the paprika, and immediately add a spoon or two of water to prevent it from burning.
4. Add the peppers and stew for 10–15 minutes, stirring, then add the tomatoes, salt, and stew for another 10–15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. At the end, either pour in the beaten eggs and stir until they set, or mix in 3–4 tablespoons of sour cream and bring to a boil once.

How it is served

Hot, as a standalone dish with white bread or as a side dish to fried meat, sausages, or rice.

Variants

Hungarians use one part onion to two parts tomatoes and four parts peppers. Lean lecsó is prepared with oil, without sausage, eggs, and sour cream.

The traditional method as described by our sources; every family does it its own way. We have not tested this recipe in a professional kitchen.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

Hungarian communities of lowland Zakarpattia and generally all of Zakarpattia as a summer homemade dish; not mountain cuisine.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Everyday food · Harvest

In tradition

Lecsó is a dish of the garden season: it is prepared when peppers and tomatoes are cheap and ripe. In Hungarian families of Zakarpattia, it is a common summer dinner.

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