It’s not for nothing that lecho for the winter is called a dish that preserves all the colors and taste of summer. To prepare it, we use all the freshest and brightest vegetables that can grow in your garden. You can, of course, buy tomatoes in the store, but they will not give as much warmth and kindness as those grown yourself.
Variety of vegetables and recipes
In addition to tomatoes, which are considered the main component of lecho, a wide variety of vegetables are used to prepare it. These are peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and much more. Homemade lecho is distinguished by its rich selection of recipes and methods of preparation. Each housewife brings something of her own and the result is a completely different recipe. As you already understand, preparing lecho at home is very simple.
Homemade lecho recipes
Recipe No. 1 Lecho from green tomatoes
Among all the recipes for lecho, this is the one that delights housewives. Who would have thought that such a delicious preparation could be made from tasteless green tomatoes? It's not difficult to make.
Main ingredients.
- Green tomatoes – 0.75 kg. Absolutely any variety will do.
- Bell pepper and onion - 0.25 kg each.
- Carrots – 0.35 kg.
- A little salt and granulated sugar to taste.
- ½ cup sunflower oil.
- Vinegar 9% - tablespoon.
- Tomato sauce – 250 ml.
- A few black peppercorns.
How to cook:
This amount of ingredients is enough to prepare lecho at home for the winter in the amount of 1.6 liters. Before starting work, thoroughly wash and clean all components.
- Preparatory stage - cut each tomato into 2-4 pieces, cut the peppers and onions into half rings. Take a coarse grater and grate the carrots.
- The next stage is preparing lecho for the winter. Put the pan on the fire.
- Place all the prepared vegetables in it one by one.
- Pour tomato juice on top.
- In a tightly closed saucepan over low heat, vegetables should simmer for about 1.5 hours. Don't forget to stir the dish at least occasionally to avoid burning it.
- When the time is right, open the lid and taste the vegetables for doneness. Now they need to be salted and sweetened, and the prepared pepper should be added.
- After 10 minutes, add the last ingredient – vinegar and mix the mass.
- We sterilize the jars and let them dry. Place tomato lecho in jars.
Recipe No. 2 Lecho from tomatoes and peppers
This winter masterpiece will appeal to those who do not like preparations with vinegar. It is not included in the dish.
Tomato and pepper lecho is the most popular among all types of this dish. Thanks to its main ingredients, it has a very rich color and serves as a decoration for any holiday table. So, let's look at how to prepare lecho according to this recipe.
Main ingredients.
- 1 kg of pepper and 1.5 kg of tomatoes.
- 2 pcs. cloves, black peppercorns and allspice.
- 1 tbsp. l. salt and 3 tbsp. granulated sugar.
The process of preparing lecho.
Homemade preparations should delight both adults and children. It is for small eaters that it is better to choose recipes without vinegar.It is much more useful, and is stored no worse.
If you take all the ingredients from the list above, then the yield of the mass ready for twisting will be approximately 2.2 liters. The number of tomatoes can be equal to the number of peppers, if the housewife so desires.
Choose any pepper. The most important thing is that the meatier it is, the more delicious the lecho will be. Do not forget that the seeds must be removed.
Chop the pepper in any way convenient for you. You shouldn’t cut it too finely, but otherwise everything depends on your imagination.
So, let's start making preparations for the winter.
- Blanch the tomatoes. They need to be peeled, the stalk cut out and cut into 2-3 pieces.
- Cut the peppers into medium pieces.
- We take a blender - it is very difficult for a modern housewife to do without this kitchen appliance. Chop the tomatoes. Place the resulting puree on the fire and wait for it to thicken a little. This will happen in about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to stir and skim off foam if any forms.
- Add pepper and spices to the mixture, mix everything and cover with a lid. After 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients according to the list.
- You need to keep the mixture on the fire for about 15 minutes without opening the lid. While the tomato lecho is being prepared, prepare the jars.
- Pour and seal the jars.
Recipe No. 3 Lecho from tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers
Add one more to your recipe book - homemade lecho with cucumbers. The very interesting taste and consistency of the dish makes it the center of attention on the holiday table.
Main ingredients.
- As the main component we take 1 kg of cucumbers.
- Tomatoes and peppers – 500 gr. The pepper is not hot, it is better to take the Bulgarian one.
- Salt – 40 gr.
- Sugar – 100 gr.
- A few cloves of garlic.
- Vegetable oil – 60 ml.
- Vinegar 9% - 60 ml.
How to cook.
- Grind the tomatoes into puree in any way and put them in a saucepan.
- We cut the peppers into small strips; cucumbers work well in rings in the recipe.
- All flavorings and ingredients are sent to the tomato mass. About 15 minutes after the mixture boils, you can add cucumbers and peppers. After we have added all the vegetables, the lecho is cooked for another 6-8 minutes.
- It is necessary to pour into jars directly while hot. We pre-sterilize jars and lids.
Lecho prepared for the winter will delight your household with its taste.
Recipe No. 4 Lecho with eggplants
Eggplants have long become as popular and beloved as zucchini. They have a pleasant taste and are quick to prepare. To prepare lecho, we will need:
- 1 kg. carrots.
- 1 kg. peppers
- 3 kg. eggplant.
- 10 pieces. bulbs
- 1 garlic.
Separately for filling:
- Sugar and sunflower oil - 0.3 kg each.
- Salt – 3 tablespoons.
- Vinegar 9% - a little less than a tablespoon.
Cooking process.
- Preparatory process. Eggplants can be bitter. To prevent this from happening, they must be soaked for 2-3 hours in cool water.
- While the eggplants are soaking, we clean the peppers and cut them into strips.
- Cut the garlic into small pieces with a knife and immediately add it to the vegetables. During cooking, they will absorb all its aromas, which will make the lecho even more aromatic.
- Separately prepare the marinade. To do this, put all the ingredients on the list into a saucepan and boil.
- The vegetable mixture is poured with marinade and put on fire. Simmer for about an hour.
When the snack is ready, it can be poured into jars.
Recipe No. 5 Lecho with tomatoes and rice for the winter
If you want to make a more satisfying appetizer that you can put on the table as a main course, then the recipe for lecho with rice will certainly suit you.
To prepare, you need to take equal parts of bell pepper, onion and carrots - 500 grams in total, you will also need 3 kg of tomatoes. The total amount of rice for harvesting is 1 kg. For the taste characteristics of lecho, add a glass of sugar and one and a half glasses of vegetable oil. Although there is no salt in the recipe, it can be added, as well as various spices.
- We wash the rice under running water, pour boiling water over it and let it brew under a warm towel.
- Remove the skin from the tomatoes. To do this, they are immersed in boiling water for a few seconds. After this, we get a homogeneous mass from them in a blender.
- The tomato mass will cook over low heat for about an hour.
- During this time, chop the onions and carrots. The latter can be grated if desired.
- After an hour, add all the other ingredients to the tomatoes. The mixture will cook for approximately 40 minutes. Then you can put it into jars.
