Perhaps one of the most popular dishes of Hungary is “Lecso” (pronounced: Lecho) or Hungarian Ratatouille with Hungarian smoked sausages, that breath life to this unique and original dish.The interesting fact about “Lecso” is that accept for the sausages, its ingredients are the bases for Hungarian Goulash, Hungarian Goulash Soup, Potato Paprikash, Chicken Paprikash, Hungarian Fish Soup and many more mouth-watering recipes from the goulash family. All painted bright red by Hungary’s National Spice the Hungarian Red Paprika.
“Lecso” is a wonderful summer dish, with fresh ingredients such as peppers, onion, tomatoes in season, it can be a new family favorites even in non-Hungarian circles. There are many ways to enjoy this wonderful, healthy dish. You may serve it over boiled potatoes, nokedli (Hungarian egg noodles, similar to spetzle), over steak or the traditonal way as seen on my video.
Real Hungarians never really stray from the most traditional version of “Lecso” which is the following. Please note that some of my recipes differ from their video versions as I would like to show you different options for each of my dishes. That gives you a variety and show you that you may switch up your basic recipe to make it your own. It is never carved in stone and makes cooking fun…
RECIPE for LECSO
1 large onion, peeled, chopped
1 link of smoked Hungarian sausage (or any kind of smoked sausage you enjoy), sliced
3 large tomatoes, sliced
4 green peppers, cored, sliced (any kind of pepper, the best is Hungarian, however you may use bell, cubannelle)
Pinch of salt (remember the sausage has salt)
2 tablespoons of olive oil (before all the Hungarians get upset, it is my choice to use olive oil, I don’t use lard)
3 large eggs
1 chilli pepper (hot) or 1/2 jalapeno pepper
Place oil in a skillet, add sliced sausage, sliced tomatoes, sliced green peppers, sliced onion, chilli pepper (sliced), salt and saute over medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes. Stir every 2-3 minutes. Remember that your sausage has a lot of salt, so please do not over-salt. Only add a pinch of salt.
After about 20 minutes you are ready for the finishing touch. Crack the eggs. To be sure you don’t have any bad eggs, crack each egg one by one into a smaller dish and pour it into a larger one (one by one). Once all the eggs are cracked, lighly whisk them with a fork and pour over the “LECSO”. Cook on medium high heat while stirring all the time so the eggs are distributed evenly. Remove and serve with crusty bread.
Other version:
1 large onion, peeled, chopped
3 large tomatoes, sliced
4 green peppers, cored, sliced
1 hot chilli, sliced (or 1/2 jalapeno sliced)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Place all of the ingredients in a skillet and saute over medium high heat for 15-20 minutes. Stir every 2-3 minutes. While “LECSO” is cooking, peel 3 large potatotes, cube them and cook them in 5 cups of salted water (1 large teaspoon of salt) until desired softness is reached (about 15-20 minutes). Drain, add a little olive oil and put aside. When “Lecso” is done, place some boiled potatoes on a plate, add about 1 laddle of “lecso” on top and serve on its own or with crusty bread.
Enjoy this and many more recipe from my cookbook that I am sharing with you through my blogs, websites and YouTube channel. If you like these sample recipes you may purchase any of my 7 cookbooks or surprise that special someone with their very own Hungarian Heritage Recipe Library™ from me, Helen M Radics.
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