Lecsó

Adapted from The Hungarian Cookbook by Susan Derecskey (Harper & Row, 1972)

When Walter was growing up, his mother made lecsó—a Hungarian dish of tomatoes, peppers, and onions—with slices of Magyar Lecsó Kolbász, a smoked and cooked garlic sausage that I order from the Hungarian Meat Market in Fairfield, Connecticut. Judging from the ingredients, I don’t think this is actually a cold-weather dish in Hungary, but we eat it all year round. Still, it always feels just right on the day of the first snow.

The traditional peppers for lecsó are light green Italian frying peppers, but since they’re hard to find, I use red bell peppers and good-quality canned Italian tomatoes. There’s no fresh garlic here—the sausage provides plenty. If you can find sweet paprika from Hungary (not just Hungarian-style), use it. I order mine from Kalustyans.

8 red bell peppers, sliced into strips about ½ inch wide (not rings)
1½ large yellow onions, chopped
Olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons sweet (Hungarian) paprika
3 (400g) cans whole peeled tomatoes (Italian DOP or Italian cherry tomatoes), passed through a food mill
2 links Magyar Lecsó Kolbász, sliced into 2 cm rounds
Full-fat sour cream, for serving

I use my 6-quart All-Clad “stockpot” here because it’s wide rather than deep, which makes it easier to cook the onions and peppers evenly.

Cover the bottom of the pot with about ¼ inch of olive oil. Add the chopped onions and sauté slowly over medium-low heat, without letting them brown. Add the sliced peppers and stir to coat with the oil and onion. Stir in 2 tablespoons of paprika, letting it bloom gently over low heat—don’t let it burn. Add the remaining tablespoon of paprika and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and a little salt. Partially cover the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. After 30 minutes, add the sausage and cook for 20 minutes more. Don’t cook it longer—you want the sausages to heat through without leeching all their flavor into the sauce. Taste for seasoning.

I serve it with a dollop of sour cream, rice, and cucumber salad—either one made with sour cream or one with a sweet and sour dressing. Green beans, tossed with olive oil and lightly salted, go well too if I want to add a vegetable.