🍅🌶️ Lecsó – Hungarian Pepper-Tomato Stew – Page 2

Sauté the onions:
- Heat oil or lard in a pot.
- Add onions and sauté until soft and golden, about 8–10 minutes.
Add peppers and sausage (if using):
- Stir in sliced peppers and optional sausage.
- Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peppers soften.
Add tomatoes and paprika:
- Remove the pot briefly from the heat.
- Stir in sweet paprika (to prevent it from burning).
- Return to heat, add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar (if needed).
- Simmer uncovered until the mixture reduces and thickens, about 20 minutes.
Optional – Add eggs:
- Beat the eggs and slowly stir them into the hot lecsó for a richer, scrambled-egg version.
- Cook for another 3–5 minutes until eggs are set.

Enjoy hot with fresh crusty bread, nokedli (spaetzle), or rice.
In Hungary, lecsó is often served as:
- A main dish with sausage and bread
- A side to pork chops or schnitzel
- A light vegetarian meal with rice or eggs

Hungarian wax peppers are ideal — sweet, mildly spicy, and thin-skinned. Bell peppers can be used as a substitute.
For a smokier taste, use smoked paprika along with sweet.
Peel tomatoes easily by scoring the skin and dropping them into boiling water for 30 seconds, then slipping off the skins.

Would you like a variation with rice mixed in (rizses lecsó) or a version preserved for winter (lecsó in jars)?