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During the winter preparation period, each housewife has a checkbox marked - “prepare lecho”. There is no more popular canned dish. For its preparation, vegetables that are available are used. There are currently quite a large number of methods for preparing lecho. In addition, the set of components may differ significantly. If the classic recipe for the dish is made from pepper, then modern variations of lecho extend to zucchini, eggplant, and cucumbers. Each housewife has her own “signature” recipe for lecho. Some take a very long time to prepare, so they are not always popular. Currently, preparations with minimal time costs are valued.
To prepare traditional lecho for the winter, use tomato sauce. And to prepare a high-quality sauce, you need to spend a significant part of the day. After all, tomatoes for the sauce need:
- wash;
- cut;
- grind in a meat grinder, grind through a sieve or grind in a blender;
- Boil the tomato juice to the desired consistency.
It is the last point that modern housewives are not happy with because of its length. They are constantly looking for new options to make preparing delicious lecho less burdensome.The most suitable recipe, which preserves the wonderful taste of the dish, is the recipe for lecho with tomato paste, tomato juice or ketchup.
Nuances of a modern recipe
Prepare bell pepper lecho with tomato paste is not difficult, but the process requires knowledge of some features. The main attention should be paid to the quality of tomato paste. The taste of the finished vegetable salad depends on this. What should you pay attention to?
On the quality of the pasta. First of all, familiarize yourself with its composition. It is optimal that the ingredient does not contain chemicals - preservatives, dyes, thickening additives.
It is best if the tomato paste is made from only tomatoes without sugar and salt. But if you don’t find one, then adjust the amount of these components to taste, without looking at the recipe.
Be sure to taste the taste of the prepared tomato paste before adding it to the lecho. It affects the quality of vegetable lecho with tomato paste more than other components. Therefore, if you do not like the quality of the product, do not use it in the preparation.
Before adding to lecho, the paste is diluted with water to a semi-liquid state. The usual ratio of components is 1:2 or with good ketchup thickness 1:3.
Then the ingredient is boiled for 5-7 minutes, adding spices and seasonings if desired.
When a recipe for lecho with tomato paste requires pre-frying the vegetables and then pouring the sauce over it, it is convenient to use homemade tomato juice.
Ketchup, as a substitute for pasta, is a little more expensive, but it adds a unique taste to a familiar salad.
An advantageous characteristic of ready-made tomato paste for lecho is that a recipe using it does not require sterilization of the finished product. Only lids and glassware are subject to mandatory sterilization.
Set of products and cooking process
Many people want to cook the famous Bulgarian lecho.
To get the taste of your favorite dish, you need to prepare per kilogram of sweet bell pepper:
- 250 grams of high-quality store-bought tomato paste;
- 250 ml purified water;
- 15 g salt;
- 75 g sugar;
- 100 ml of vegetable oil;
- 50 ml table vinegar (9%).
Before you start cooking, prepare the jars and lids - wash them thoroughly and sterilize them. This can be done in the usual way over boiling water and dried. There is an alternative - fry in the oven for 20 minutes.
Let's start preparing the dish. For lecho with tomato paste, take fleshy ripe peppers. Color and size don't really matter. Wash the pepper well, remove the stems, membranes and seeds. To remove any seeds left, tap the peppercorns with the flat side of a knife. Now cut into pieces of the shape you like best - strips, slices, squares.
Prepare the sauce. To do this, dilute store-bought tomato paste with water in a large container. If the paste is thick, dilute it in a ratio of 1:1; if the paste is thinner, then it is enough to take 1:2 water.
Add vegetable oil, sugar and salt. Be sure to taste the sauce so as not to over-salt the lecho with tomato paste. Mix the mixture well and boil.
Place pepper slices into the boiling sauce, boil the mixture and simmer for 25 minutes.
All that remains is to add vinegar and boil the mixture again for 5 minutes.
And now place the still hot, aromatic dish of pepper with tomato paste into a sterile glass container and roll up the lids. According to the recommendations of culinary specialists, turn the jars over and insulate them.Once cooled, transfer to winter storage.
Recipes with other vegetables added
Lecho with tomato paste is often prepared for the winter with onion and carrots.
This salad has a richer taste. Due to the increased number of ingredients, you will need more tomato paste, sugar and salt.
For one kilogram of fleshy peppers you need to take:
- 400 grams of vegetables - onions and carrots;
- 5-6 cloves of garlic (add to your liking);
- 500 g prepared tomato paste;
- 50 g salt and 100 g sugar;
- 100 ml of vegetable oil;
- 50 ml vinegar.
Lecho with carrots, onions and tomato paste takes a little longer to prepare, but the cooking process is similar to the classic version.
First, we sterilize the jars and lids in a convenient way
Let's move on to vegetables. Wash it, peel it, start grinding it.
Cut the pepper into large strips, grate the carrots, cut the onion into half rings, and use a crusher or fine grater for the garlic.
We send the onions first for heat treatment. Pour oil into a cauldron, heat it up and put the onion in it. Let's warm it up for 5 minutes.
Now add carrots to the cauldron and simmer together with onions for 10 minutes. At the end of stewing the vegetables, add garlic and bell pepper.
At the same time prepare the pasta. Mix it with water, salt, sugar and pour it into a cauldron with vegetables.
The stewing time of the dish is 40 minutes. When there are 5 minutes left before the end of the process, add vinegar.
After the time has passed, put the hot, tasty mixture into jars, seal and insulate. When it cools down, remove the blanket and store it.
Options with unusual components for treatment
Lecho with tomato paste, the recipe of which contains rice cereal, is becoming very popular. This preparation turns out to be more satisfying and nutritious.Serves as an independent second course. Very convenient when guests unexpectedly arrive or you need lunch on the road.
For 1 kg of bell pepper it will be enough:
- 250 g rice cereal;
- 1 kg of onions and carrots;
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 1 liter of store-bought tomato paste (you can use homemade sauce);
- 0.5 l vegetable oil;
- 3 tablespoons table salt;
- 100 ml vinegar.
All vegetables need to be washed well and then chopped. In this recipe, chop the pepper coarsely, chop the carrots on a coarse grater, and chop the onion into half rings.
Place all the ingredients into the pan at once and cook for 50 minutes after boiling. Stir the hot mass periodically, not forgetting the safety precautions. After stewing, add vinegar and boil for another 5 minutes.
Place into jars while hot, roll up well, and cover with a warm blanket. Once the mixture has cooled completely, remove the blanket and put away lecho with rice Into the basement.
Note to housewives
Even in a classic recipe, you can safely add your favorite spices or garlic. Place herbs and spices in tomato sauce, boil a little and then add vegetables. Allspice, cloves, and bay leaves go well with Bulgarian lecho. If you want to add dill or parsley, it is better to do this 10 minutes before the end of stewing.
To prepare lecho, choose only high-quality products. In this case, you can be sure that the winter preparation will withstand the required shelf life.
Be sure to sterilize the dishes and lids so that your efforts are not wasted. Due to the unsterility of the dishes, the lecho will quickly deteriorate and will be unsuitable for food.
Control the cooking time according to your needs. If you need elastic pepper in lecho, then try not to overcook it.
