WFU Recipe: Lecso

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Our What Feeds Us group has recently cooked Lecso, a Hungarian Pepper Stew! While this recipe originally serves 6, you can add more vegetable or make a side of rice or noodles to increase the serving size. Even though we’ve been cooking online in separate kitchens, there’s something special about coming together as a group, regardless of the environment, to cook a meal which will be enjoyed by many. Not to mention, stews bring a sense of comfort that is hard to beat. Follow the recipe below, and if you give it a try, let us know how it turned out!

Lecso

Hungarian Pepper Stew

Prep Time

10 Minutes

Cook Time

1 Hour

Serving Size

6 Servings

Base: 

  • 1-2 onions, chopped 

  • 1-2 tomatoes, chopped 

  • 2-4 peppers (Bell Pepper- orange, red or yellow are best) (can use less and amp up the potato and paprika)  

  • 2 cloves garlic- chopped 

  • Salt - to taste 

  • Sweet or hot paprika- (to taste) (I usually use 3-4 TBSP)  

  • Oil or butter 

  • Starch- to put it on or cook in it like noodles, rice or potato. If want to make your own pinched noodles will need a cup of flour and an egg.  

Optional protein (choose one or do with none): 

  • 1-2 eggs 

  • 1-2 sausage 

  • Hot dogs 

  • 1 lb. ground meat,  

  • 1 lb. stew beef or pork  

  • 1 lb. chicken 

  • 1-2 TBSP per person sour cream (can be used for any of these above mixtures)

Directions: 

  1. Need a big enough pan/pot with a lid to fit all ingredients.  

  2. Chop the onion up in 1 cm squares and saute in some oil with the garlic till soft and glassy. 

  3. Chop tomato in 1 cm squares. Seed and slice bell peppers. Put tomatoes and peppers into the pan and stir. If you are doing it with no protein or only egg, sausage you should use more peppers (3-4), if you are doing it with stew meat, ground meat or chicken you should do with a little less pepper (2).  

  4. Meanwhile: If you are using ground meat, pre-brown it in another pan and add it to this pot when done browning.  

  5. If you are adding stew meat, potato or chicken, sausage I like cutting up in mouthful size bites and I will add them once peppers and tomato have cooked for a few minutes. (add some water if using potato)  

  6. Add the salt (to taste) and paprika.  

  7. If you are adding egg, wait till mostly cooked and liquid comes out of veggies to make a thick stew broth. Then you crack the eggs in the pot. Put the lid back on and let them cook a bit in the sauce till egg white starts setting. Then you can stir around. This will make it so you get bigger chunks of egg in it instead of small ones (will happen if you stir too early.)  

  8. If you are adding noodles, add some more water to the pot and toss noodles in and they will cook with stew. You can also cook noodles separately and serve stew on top.  

When done, eat as is, serve on rice or noodles and can add a spoonful of sour cream into each bowl! Sour cream is helpful if you made it too spicy because of your paprika type.

Enjoy!  

WFU RecipeAshleigh ImberyComment