Lecsó
Hungarian pepper and tomato stew cooked in lard with onion and paprika, eaten with bread, with eggs stirred in, or with sausage.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Lecsó is peppers and tomatoes stewed with onion in lard and seasoned with paprika until they slump into a loose, sweet, faintly smoky stew. It wants Hungarian wax peppers, the pale yellow-green thin-walled kind; bell peppers work with less character. This is the base version. From it, you break eggs into the pan and stir them through for breakfast, or add rounds of smoked paprika sausage for supper, or spoon it next to roast meat as a side. It takes 40 minutes, most of which is waiting for the peppers to give up.
What you'll need
9 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Bell pepper, Hungarian wax peppers, or yellow and green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips1 kg
- Tomato, ripe, roughly chopped500 g
- Onion, sliced2 medium
- Lard40 g
- Paprika, sweet Hungarian15 ml
- Salt7.4 ml
- Sugar, only if the tomatoes are sharp (optional)4.9 ml
- Sausages, smoked paprika sausage (kolbász), sliced (optional)200 g
- Egg, for the breakfast version (optional)4
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Melt the lard in a wide pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 8 minutes until soft and translucent.
8 min
Step 2
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika. Add the peppers and salt at once, return to the heat, cover and cook 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the peppers have softened and released their juice.
16 min
Watch: Paprika scorches in hot fat. Off the heat, peppers in straight after.
Step 3
Add the tomatoes, cover again and cook 15 minutes more until everything is soft and the liquid has thickened to a loose stew. Taste; add sugar only if it is sharp.
15 min
Tip: If it is watery, take the lid off for the last 5 minutes.
Step 4
For a sausage lecsó, add the sliced sausage with the tomatoes. For eggs, make four hollows, break in the eggs, cover and cook 4 minutes, or beat them and stir through until just set. Serve with white bread.
5 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 339 kcal
- Protein
- 24.8 g
- Carbs
- 29 g
- Fat
- 14.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.5 g
- Fibre
- 8.5 g
- Sugar
- 18.2 g
- Sodium
- 795 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Eggs
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Lard → Sunflower oil
Lighter and vegan. The stew loses a little savour.
Tips
- Hungarian wax peppers are sold as banana peppers or Hungarian yellow in some markets. They matter more than any other ingredient here.
- Lecsó freezes well and is the base of a dozen other dishes: stir it into rice, use it under fried eggs, or cook chicken in it.
History & culture
Late summer, when peppers and tomatoes are cheap and every garden has too many. It is cooked in enormous batches and jarred for the winter. Breakfast, supper, side dish, whatever. Each household has a pepper-to-tomato ratio it considers correct, and white bread is the only accompaniment anyone agrees on.
Peppers and tomatoes both arrived with Ottoman rule and Balkan trade, and lecsó is a relative of Serbian djuveč and Turkish menemen. It took its present form in the 19th century as fresh peppers became cheap; the name is probably Slavic. The shortages of the 20th century fixed it as the dish anyone could make from a garden.
Traditional — Cooked in lard, as it would be in Hungary. Use oil and leave out the sausage and it is vegan, which many Hungarians would find a strange thing to want.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Lecsó take?
50 min all in — 15 min prep, 35 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Very easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.
How much sugar?
1 tsp (only if the tomatoes are sharp, optional) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Lard → Sunflower oil. Lighter and vegan. The stew loses a little savour.
What should I watch for?
Paprika scorches in hot fat. Off the heat, peppers in straight after.
Any tips from this recipe?
Hungarian wax peppers are sold as banana peppers or Hungarian yellow in some markets. They matter more than any other ingredient here. Lecsó freezes well and is the base of a dozen other dishes: stir it into rice, use it under fried eggs, or cook chicken in it.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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