Lecsó is an originally Hungarian thick vegetable stew

Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...

 which features peppers

Paprika

Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...

 and tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

, onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

, lard, salt, sugar and ground paprika

Paprika

Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...

  as a base recipe. In northern Hungary, the onions and peppers are usually sauteed in lard

Lard

Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...

 or bacon fat, while in the south sunflower oil

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil was first industrially produced in 1835 in the Russian Empire.- Composition :Sunflower oil is mainly a...

 is more commonly used. It is also considered to be traditional food in Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, Slovak

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 and Polish cuisine and is also very common in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Most Hungarian recipes recommend sweet yellow Hungarian peppers, which are in season August–October which is also when field tomatoes are at their best. Other recipes suggest using both bell pepper

Bell pepper

Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...

 and banana pepper

Banana pepper

The banana pepper is a member of the chili pepper family. It is often pickled and used as an ingredient in sandwiches. It is a variety of the species Capsicum annuum. Its shape and color resembles a banana...

 as alternatives.

Lecsó varieties

There is a large variety of lecsós, the base of all being a mixture of tomatoes and peppers (preferably both sweet and hot), onions, spiced with salt (optionally also sugar), a fair amount of red paprika powder and often garlic. Some recipes may also use bay leaf, ground black pepper or thyme. To make the perfect lecsó base, one must render the lard from the smoked bacon (if that is used instead of oil, which is also common), and fry the onion slices until the edges become slightly brownish. Next the pepper slices must be added and fried until crisp. The tomatoes come last because, if added at the beginning, they would soak the onions and the peppers. One type of lecsó is made with potatoes, another with cooked rice or egg barley

Egg barley

Egg barley, also egg drops, called tarhonya in Hungarian, is an egg-based pasta grain in Hungary and Eastern Europe, originating probably from the influence of the Ottoman empire and the Turkish cuisine from tarhana or of Persian origin, similar to the Persian tarkhane. The "barley" moniker is...

 (called tarhonya

Egg barley

Egg barley, also egg drops, called tarhonya in Hungarian, is an egg-based pasta grain in Hungary and Eastern Europe, originating probably from the influence of the Ottoman empire and the Turkish cuisine from tarhana or of Persian origin, similar to the Persian tarkhane. The "barley" moniker is...

, a kind of large Hungarian couscous). It is possible to make lecsó with green tomatoes, cold lecsó in aspic

Aspic

Aspic is a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Non-savory dishes, often made with commercial gelatin mixes without stock or consommé, are usually called gelatin salads....

, and to serve the warm dish with sour cream

Sour cream

Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Its name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial...

 or in a pancake, as a filling. Some recipes are with meat, sausage (called "kolbász

Kolbász

The Cuisine of Hungary produces a vast number of types of sausages. The most common smoked Hungarian sausages are Gyulai Kolbász, Csabai Kolbász, Csemege Kolbász, Házi Kolbász, Cserkész Kolbász, lightly smoked, like Debreceni Kolbász and Lecsókolbász, a spicy sausage made specifically for serving...

" such as lecsókolbász, made specifically for this purpose, or Debrecener

Debrecener

A debrecener is a pork sausage of uniform fine texture and reddish-orange colour, named after the Hungarian city of Debrecen. Also known as "Debreziners", the sausages are heavily spiced with paprika and other seasonings like garlic, pepper and marjoram. They are usually unsmoked or lightly...

 sausage) bacon or smoked pork chops, liver and sliced hot dog sausages. Some are decorated with slices of hard-boiled egg or thickened with beaten eggs. Even cabbage and pumpkin may be added at times. If meat is added, it may be added first, and fried with the onions and pepper slices.
Some people eat lecsó with sugar icing on top.
Lecsó, like its French semi-counterpart ratatouille

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.- Origin :...

, often stands alone as a lunch dish, in which case it is often consumed with bread. Plain lecsó can be served as a side dish accompanying various main dishes, for example meat stews like csirke paprikás

Goulash

Goulash is a soup or stew of meat, noodles and vegetables , seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is also a popular meal in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia...

 and pörkölt

Pörkölt

Pörkölt is a meat stew which originates from Hungary, but is eaten throughout Central Europe and the Balkans.-In Hungary:Pörkölt is a Hungarian stew with boneless meat, paprika, some vegetables and no potato...

  or roasted chicken, pheasant, pork, beef or Eszterhazy steak.
It is widely known in Hungary that the best lecsó is made over an open fire in a "bogrács" (a cauldron), a Hungarian style barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

. In Hungary the dish is very popular, and even has its own festivals, e.g. in Zsámbok

Zsámbok

Zsámbok is a village and commune in the comitatus of Pest County, Hungary....

 or Vác

Vác

Vác is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spellings of the name are Vacz and Vacs.-Location:...

.

In Germany, lecsó is referred to as Letscho and often used as the primary ingredient of a sauce that is used with many different meals. It is usually made of tomatoes, peppers, and onions among other regional additions.

In Poland, lecsó (called leczo) is usually made from red pepper, zucchini

Zucchini

The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...

, tomatoes, onion and garlic, sausage, and spiced with powdered chilli pepper. Leczo should be served hot and spicy. It probably came to Poland from Hungary.