Zucchini lecho for the winter: recipes

Many housewives are very fond of zucchini, as they are easy to prepare and can be combined with a large number of other ingredients. Zucchini itself has a neutral taste. It is thanks to this that they easily absorb the aroma and taste of other components of the dish. These vegetables can be prepared in a variety of ways. Most often they are fried, stewed and baked. But experienced housewives know that zucchini can also be used to make very original and tasty preserves for the winter. They are salted and made into a wide variety of salads. Now we will look at options for preparing zucchini lecho for the winter. This preparation will definitely not leave anyone indifferent.

Secrets of making zucchini lecho

Before you start, you need to learn some subtleties on how to prepare delicious lecho:

1. Old fruits are not suitable for preparing lecho for the winter. It is better to take young zucchini that weigh no more than 150 grams. They should have fairly thin skin, as well as soft and tender flesh. Fruits with seeds are also not suitable for harvesting. If you are using vegetables from your garden, it is better to collect them immediately before cooking. And those who buy zucchini at the market or in a store should pay attention to their appearance. Fresh fruits should not have any blemishes.
2. The recipe for making zucchini lecho is not much different from the classic lecho made from bell peppers and tomatoes. The list of ingredients also includes tomatoes, peppers, garlic, carrots and onions. You don't need any fancy spices for this. This dish is best complemented with salt, black peppercorns, sugar, table vinegar and bay leaves.
3. A mandatory ingredient is table vinegar. It is this that saturates the tasteless zucchini with a pronounced flavor, and also acts as a preservative.
4. Remember that lecho is not zucchini caviar, but something reminiscent of a salad. So the vegetables do not need to be chopped very much so that the dish does not turn into porridge. Zucchini is usually cut into cubes or thin slices. The width of each piece should be from 50 mm to 1.5 cm.
   
5. But still, the dish must also contain liquid ingredients. To do this, the tomatoes must be chopped using a meat grinder or a fine grater. You can also use a blender. Some housewives prefer to use a grater. This, of course, is the longest method, but in this way all the peel will remain on the grater and will not end up in the dish. But, you can first remove the skin from the fruits and then grind them with a blender.
6. In order for the liquid mass of the workpiece to be successful, it is necessary to use only fleshy and juicy tomatoes. Many people pass them through a sieve to make the mass as homogeneous as possible. In addition, thanks to this method, the skin does not end up in the finished dish. If you don’t have that much time, you can first peel the tomatoes. To do this, the prepared fruits are immersed in boiling water for a couple of minutes. After this, they are taken out and immediately placed under running cold water. Thanks to such procedures, the skin is very easy to separate.
   
7. The amount of bell pepper in the finished dish should not prevail. Still, the main ingredient is zucchini. Any bell pepper will do, but it is better to use red ones. They will give the dish a more beautiful and vibrant color.
8. Our grandmothers always sterilized lecho. Nowadays, modern housewives more carefully prepare all the ingredients for the dishes, so you can do without sterilization. The main thing is to wash all the ingredients very thoroughly. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse all jars and lids, after which they are boiled or placed in a preheated oven for a while.

Zucchini lecho for the winter

Required components:

• 2 kg of zucchini;
• 600 g carrots;
• 1 kg of red bell pepper;
• 600 g onions;
• 3 kg of ripe red tomatoes;
• 3 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 2 tbsp. l. salt;
• 4 tbsp. l. table vinegar;
• 140 ml vegetable oil.

Now let’s take a closer look at how to prepare lecho from zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. The first step is to prepare all the dishes. You can choose jars of absolutely any size. But experienced housewives recommend using liter containers. In such a container, the workpiece will remain hot longer, due to which pasteurization occurs.

The preparation of containers does not end there. After such thorough washing, it is also necessary to sterilize the dishes. Every housewife does this in her usual way. Then the jars are laid out on the prepared towel with the hole facing down.

First, prepare the tomatoes. They are washed thoroughly, cut in half and the place where the stalk connects to the tomato is cut off. Then the tomatoes are crushed using a meat grinder or other device.The resulting mass is poured into the prepared pan and placed on low heat. In this form, the tomatoes are boiled for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, while the first ingredient is simmering on the stove, you can prepare the onions. It must be peeled, washed in cold water and cut into strips or half rings. Then wash, peel and chop the peppers. Remember that the pieces should not be too small. The vegetable can be cut into cubes or strips. The carrots are also peeled, washed and grated on a medium-sized grater. But, you can also cut the vegetable into strips. Now you can proceed to the most important ingredient. First of all, remove the stems from the zucchini. Then the fruits are washed and peeled, if necessary.

Next, each zucchini is cut into 4 parts along the fruit and each is cut into slices. All this time it is necessary to observe the tomatoes that are being cooked on the stove. In 20 minutes the mass will boil down a little. Now sugar, salt and vegetable oil are added to it according to the recipe. After this, place the grated carrots into the pan and mix thoroughly. In this form, the mass should simmer for 5 minutes.

After the time has passed, add the onion to the pan and simmer the vegetables again for 5 minutes. Next, peppers and zucchini are added to the dish every five minutes. Stir the mixture from time to time. Now the dish should simmer for about 30 minutes.

When there are 5 minutes left until the end of cooking, you need to pour table vinegar into the preparation.After the time has elapsed, turn off the fire and immediately begin to pour the lecho into the prepared jars. The containers are closed with sterilized lids and turned over. After this, the workpiece must be covered with a warm blanket and left in this form until the lecho has completely cooled down. Next, lecho with zucchini and pepper is placed in a cellar or other cool room for the winter.

Many housewives prepare delicious lecho from zucchini with parsley or dill. They also need to be thoroughly washed, chopped with a knife and added to the lecho 10 minutes before complete cooking. During this time, the preparation will absorb all the aroma and taste. Also, each housewife can change the amount of ingredients according to her own discretion and taste.

Conclusion

Of course, there are different recipes for zucchini lecho for the winter. But basically this dish is prepared with bell peppers, tomatoes and carrots. Such lecho recipe zucchini is considered the best. Each housewife can independently choose additional ingredients that will only make the product taste better. Pepper and zucchini lecho is a delicious dish that has been very popular for many years. Try it at least once and it will become your annual tradition.

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