Lecsó (Hungarian Pepper Stew)

If you would like to eat Lecsó EXACTLY how Hungarians eat it, you should try this recipe using tomatoes and Hungarian wax peppers. It is a light veggie stew that is ready in 30 minutes!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Dairy-free, Egg-free, French, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Hungarian pepper stew, lecso, ratatouille, vegetable stew

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 139kcal

Author Nandor Barta

Equipment

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Coconut oil in place of lard
1 Onion (large)
2 cloves Garlic
4 Tomatoes (large) see Notes for types we recommend
3 Pepper see Notes for types we recommend
2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika powder
½ tsp Liquid smoke optional - if you want to replicate the taste of cooking in a cauldron
Salt and Pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

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 in half, and 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.

Cooking lecso

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 now add the optional liquid smoke if you want). Ready to be served!

Video

Notes

Okay, so you might think it is redundant to highlight how to choose a tomato or a pepper. However, this recipe has only a few ingredients, so choosing the right tomato and pepper is essential. As if you would like to make an authentic lecsó.

Tomato: You need large, juicy tomatoes like Beefsteak and Heirloom Tomatoes. The most important vegetable as there is no sauce or veggie broth, the juiciness of your dish depends on your choice of tomatoes. Cherry or cocktail tomatoes are not ideal as they are more skin than flesh. The traditional way is to use fresh, juicy, ripe tomatoes, but we understand that it is not always possible to get hold of them. You can use chopped canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce or tomato paste), so you have a bit of a chunky texture.
Pepper: The authentic dish is made of Hungarian wax pepper or banana peppers (the sweet kind) or in combination with some hot peppers. However, using bell pepper can give you a similar result. You just need to cook the stew longer, as bell pepper tends to be thicker than wax pepper. With the same cooking time, the bell pepper may remain uncooked and too crunchy. Red, yellow, and green are all game.
Onion: It is not the dish to substitute it with leeks, shallots, or spring onion. Red or yellow onion full stop.
How spicy should it be? - Depending on how hot and spicy you prefer your soup, you can add chili powder or sriracha or freshly chopped raw chili peppers beside the sweet paprika powder. In Hungary, we use Eros Pista, a roughly pureed hot paprika and nothing else.
Why coconut oil? - The traditional way is to make the base for cooking onion and garlic with lard. As we eat vegan, the closest alternative is coconut oil. Why? It gives a texture similar to lard.

Nutrition