Hungarians love to think of Lecsó as their own national food, because they love the Lecsó. (Me too.)
The Lecsó is sometimes called “Hungarian ratatouille”. But it is wrong. In the summer I cook Lecsó with zucchini (courgettes), but it is just a one of the many variations.
If talking about Lecsó (Hungarian yellow pepper and tomato stew), the word of authentic and traditional are undefined. My parents cook the Lecsó with sausage and they eat it with rice. Some recipes use bacon, garlic and sweet Hungarian paprika powder.
The Lecsó is a complete dish without meat for me. I like it hot with egg and a big chunk of fresh bread.
The soul of the Lecsó is the Hungarian yellow vax pepper (known as banana pepper). The young Hungarian wax pepper is yellow, later it will become red. The red Hungarian wax pepper is sweeter. I cook usually the Lecsó with Hungarian yellow wax pepper but if I have red wax pepper, I put it.
In Hungary the Hungarian yellow wax pepper is called “fehér paprika” (white pepper) or “TV paprika” (TV pepper). The TV (Tölteni Való) means “for stuffed”. We use also this pepper for the Hungarian stuffed pepper.
The bell peppers are bigger and sweeter like a Hungarian wax pepper. I like the bell peppers very much, but I never ever cooked the Lecsó with bell peppers. If the wax pepper isn’t in our garden or I cannot buy it, I do not cook the Lecsó.
My grandfather always put a hot green pepper in his Lecsó. I like also the hot Lecsó, I sprinkle the Lecsó wiht crushed chili (or fresh jalapeno).
Hungarian yellow wax pepper and tomato stew with egg (Hungarian: Lecsó)
Ingredients
- 5 Sweet Hungarian yellow wax peppers (or banana peppers) (chopped and remove its seeds)
- 2 small onions (chopped)
- 4 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- 4 egg
- salt
- crushed chilli or fresh jalapeno
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan and add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly until the onions are clear and glassy.
- Add the diced Hungarian wax peppers, the diced tomatos and a big pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients, cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes.
- Scramble the eggs and add the eggs to Lecsó. Cook for about 2 more minutes.