Lecso ~ Hungarian Ratatouille

I first tasted Lecso when I was in Hungary in 2009. It was served for breakfast in two different hotels where I stayed. I loved it, and it was one of the first recipes I tracked down when I returned home.

In northern Alberta I don't have access to Hungarian yellow peppers (which are typically used to make lecso), so I used red and orange bell peppers instead.

Lecso can be made with our without sausage....because I was making it for breakfast, not a main meal side dish, I added some chopped hungarian farmers sausage (from Save on Foods).

Here's how I did it....

I grabbed peppers, onion, tomato, sausage, salt, pepper, hot pepper paste (from Hungary!), paprika and tomato paste.

Chop the peppers and tomatoes into large chunks, and slice onions into long pieces.




Add a tablespoon of oil to saute pan and heat; then add peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Saute for 7 or 8 minutes until peppers and onions begin to get soft.




Next, add spices (hot pepper paste, paprika, salt, pepper) and tomato paste.

Add sausage pieces and continue cooking until sausage is done. Peppers should remain slightly firm, don't overcook or the peppers will be mushy, and the finished lecso won't be as good.



This is what it looks like when it's finished....



And the delicious sausage, peppers, onion, tomato, up close...



Finally....ready to eat! It's very versatile, but is often serve with crusty white bread.



In 2010 when my mom and I were in Hungary, our hotel in Mosonmagyarovar served Lecso (sparingly) with thin slices of sausage on eggs as a "Hungarian Omelette". Very good.

This recipe is slightly adapted, but is based on Lecso from Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes.

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