Summer in the bank: quick lecho recipes

Recipe number 1: lecho with tomatoes, peppers and carrots

Ingredients (the yield is about 1.3 liters): 1 kg of tomatoes, 0.8-1 kg of sweet peppers (about 5 small pieces), 1 medium carrot, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, 3 lavrushka leaves, a handful of pepper mixture, a couple of allspice peas and 3 cloves of garlic (optional).

Rinse tomatoes and remove seeds. If you have small tomatoes, then just cut them in half and take out the seeds, if the fruits are larger, then it is better to cut them into 4 parts. The recipe suggests wiping the ready-made puree through a sieve to get rid of the seeds, but for me personally it was easier to take them out right away. My grandmother leaves everything with seeds, so it's up to you. If you have free time and desire, skin them off. Then grind in mashed potatoes using a meat grinder or a blender (as in my case), pour into a saucepan, add sugar, salt, oil and pepper with bay leaves, put on fire until boiling. To make it easier to catch the bay leaf later and then not get pepper on your tooth, make a gauze bag - then just take it out with a spoon before pouring it into the jar.

While the tomato mass is boiling, you cut the peppers lengthwise into 8-10 pieces (depending on the size) and the carrots. I cut it into thin strips, you can cut it as you like, as long as it is not very thin, so that it does not boil down in mashed potatoes! Peppers, by the way, can also be cut into larger pieces, or vice versa, into strips.

The tomato mass began to boil and a light foam appeared on the surface - you need to get rid of it with a slotted spoon (a spoon with holes) or strain through a sieve. After that, you can add chopped carrots and peppers, wait until the lecho boils again, and then mark for another 30 minutes. Squeeze out the garlic 10 minutes before readiness, if you like it sharper, then do not hesitate in quantity.

I want to add a little separately here according to the amount of pepper and carrots - when you just add the chopped vegetables, they will take up more space, and then they boil down, become softer, and the pepper also lets out the juice. So don't hesitate and put a lot!

Turn off, cool a little, add vinegar, mix well and pour into a jar. Lecho is ready! It remains only to wait until it cools down, and either directly on the table or in the refrigerator. Vinegar, by the way, is also optional. It is not practically felt there anyway, and some conservation professionals argue that it is not required for those cans that are prepared for the winter.

Recipe number 2: lecho with tomatoes, peppers and eggplants

Ingredients: 1 kg tomatoes, 1/2 kg peppers (3-4 things), 1 medium eggplant, 1/5 cup sugar, 1/5 cup butter, 1 flat tablespoon salt, 3-4 bay leaves, a handful of pepper mixture and again a couple of cloves of garlic if desired.

The preparation is fully consistent with the first recipe. Nothing new or complicated. Only the eggplant needs to be thrown a little earlier than the peppers (about 5 minutes). The pepper is also cut into 6-8 pieces, and the eggplant is cut into small cubes about 0.5 cm thick and 3 cm long (about half the index finger).

To summarize and write a little easier, then you should simply grind the tomatoes in mashed potatoes, put it on the fire, add sugar, salt, vegetable oil and spices, cut the vegetables into small cubes and send them to boiling tomato puree.

All the troubles with peeling tomatoes, removing seeds, etc. etc. - this is already for more sophisticated and advanced users (and visually it just turns out more beautifully). Some also add various dry herbs: basil, a mixture of Provencal herbs, Italian herbs, tarragon, thyme - all this can be bought in almost any store. And they also add onions, zucchini, squash to the lecho, fry and not fry, with and without vinegar, add tomato juice and without it - there are simply no options!