Cucumber treat: winter recipes with and without sterilization, plus a way to maintain shape and “crispness” even in slightly overripe vegetables

Lecho is a traditional Hungarian dish. It has spread in many European countries. He has no classic recipe. However, the combination of bell pepper, tomato and onion is constant and obligatory. Each hostess adapts the recipe to the products available to her. Residents of Germany use lecho as a side dish for fatty and spicy meat dishes. Served with mustard, chili sauce. In Hungary, smoked products are added there. Eat a salad with white bread.

Basic Product Preparation

You can’t preserve a delicious lecho without the right choice of ingredients. Several rules and recommendations will greatly simplify the cooking process.

• Cucumbers. Fruits of almost any size will do. Only ripe yellow vegetables are not used. They are bitter, too hard, have a fresh taste. Also in them are seeds of large sizes.
• Tomatoes. You can even choose crumpled, irregularly shaped, overripe fruits. Fleshy, red tomatoes are great. Before grinding, they are poured with boiling water. It’s more convenient to get rid of the peel.
• Bell pepper. It is not recommended to use green vegetables. It is better to give preference to yellow and red. They will look prettier and more appetizing in a snack.

Classic and 3 more cooking options

The appetizer goes well not only with meat and fish dishes, but also with side dishes - rice, boiled potatoes, pasta. Cucumber lecco is included in the category of those blanks that can be used in the diet and fasting menu. Also, assorted vegetables will not be disregarded by vegetarians.

As a preservative, not only vinegar can act. The latter can be replaced by citric acid. If vinegar essence is present in the recipe, then it is added in small quantities. Some housewives use outdated canning methods, adding Aspirin to the spins.

Traditional

Features. It is not necessary to use hot peppers. Without it, the snack will have a mild sweet flavor. From spices you can choose allspice, dried or fresh dill. A more piquant option is obtained with seasoning hops-suneli or ground coriander.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of cucumbers;
• 500 g of tomatoes;
• five bell peppers;
• one hot pepper;
• five to eight garlic cloves;
• two onions;
• carrot;
• 50 ml of sunflower oil;
• 50 ml of vinegar (9%);
• 50-60 g of sugar;
• 20-25 g of salt;
• spices.

Cooking

1. Rub the carrots, chop the onion into cubes. Passing vegetables.
2. We grind tomatoes, sweet and bitter peppers in a meat grinder, in a blender or food processor.
3. Season the pasta with spices, salt and boil. Add the sliced ​​cucumbers. Cook for about three minutes. Introduce the passerovka from carrots and onions.
4. Cut the cloves of garlic into slices.We put them in sterile jars. Then fill the salad mixture. Flavored with vinegar.
5. We cover the containers with lids and sterilize in a pan with water for 20 minutes.
6. Roll up, turn upside down, insulate.
7. We take out in the cold after complete cooling.

With eggplant

Features. A treat with cucumbers, bell peppers and eggplant can stand in an open jar for no more than four to five days. Served only chilled. If the eggplant has a bitter taste, then you need to eliminate it. To do this, chopped vegetables are salted and left for two hours. Then washed well with cold water. You can speed up the process if you leave the little blue ones under oppression.

Ingredients:

• 700 g of cucumbers;
• 1.4 kg of tomatoes;
• 1.4 kg of eggplant;
• 600 g of bell pepper;
• 320 g of onions;
• 50-60 g of salt;
• 95-100 g of sugar;
• 200 ml of sunflower oil;
• 75 ml of vinegar.

Cooking

1. Cut the eggplant into cubes, cucumbers into quarters, onions into halves of the rings, and pepper into strips.
2. From tomatoes, squeeze juice and boil for five minutes.
3. Next, we introduce the chopped vegetables and keep on fire under a closed lid for another 20 minutes. Constantly stir, so as not to burn.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the salad mixture and simmer for five minutes.
5. Pour into sterile containers, twist, warm.
6. We wait until it cools down. Only then we take out to the pantry or cellar.

Georgian

Features. No need to be afraid to add spices and seasonings to the lecho. The more fragrant and spicy the aroma of the workpiece is, the better. If there is no suneli hop or coriander, then a crushed bay leaf is suitable as a substitute. You need to cook from ripe tomatoes. Thus, light "greenery" will be beautifully combined with red tomato juice. The appetizer will have an appetizing appearance if the rings of the cucumbers are cut neatly and equally.

Ingredients:

• 4.5 kg of cucumbers;
• 1.8 kg of tomatoes;
• 200 ml of sunflower oil;
• 60 g of salt;
• 250 g of garlic;
• 250 ml of vinegar;
• mixture of peppers, suneli hops, coriander.

Cooking

1. Grind tomatoes in a meat grinder or on a grater.
2. Cut the cucumbers into thin rings, crush the garlic.
3. We mix tomato juice, vegetable oil, salt, sugar. Boil for 20 minutes.
4. Pour vinegar into the salad mixture, add garlic, spices and cucumbers. Cook for ten minutes. Cucumbers should lighten.
5. We lay out on the banks, roll up, warm.
6. We take it out to the storage place after 24 hours.

With gelatin

Features. Unlike other options, cucumbers will turn out crispy in this preparation. They remain dense and do not lose their aesthetic qualities thanks to a shell made of gelatin. Be sure to be served chilled. Procurement belongs to the category of dishes, which are also called "to vodka", that is, served with alcoholic beverages. The dish is made from slightly unripe tomatoes. It is necessary to choose fruits with a dense structure. If you use ripe vegetables, then during heat treatment they will soften and turn into pulp. Even the “fastening” jelly will not save them.

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of cucumbers;
• four tomatoes;
• 60-75 g of gelatin;
• 1.6 l of water;
• 30-40 g of salt;
• 80-90 g of sugar;
• 12 garlic cloves;
• two onions;
• 120 ml of vinegar;
• leaf of laurel, peas of allspice;
• greens to taste.

Cooking

1. Tomatoes, cucumbers are cut into large rings, and onions - into small ones.
2. In banks, the first layer is spices and herbs, herbs. Then come the vegetables. The last layer is onion rings.
3. We dilute gelatin in cold boiled water (600 ml) and wait until it swells for 40 minutes.
4. The remaining water is mixed with salt, sugar. Add boiled brine to gelatin, mix until it is completely dissolved.Pour the vinegar last.
5. Pour the salad mixture with the marinade. We sterilize in a saucepan with water for 15-20 minutes.
6. We roll up, we do not warm.

The dish can be made using ready-made tomato sauce. Before putting on fire, it is diluted with water to the consistency of sour cream. It is recommended that you carefully select store products. Tomato paste should not contain preservatives, flavor and odor enhancers, or other chemical additives. You can also use store or homemade ketchup to make lecho. In the first case, it should be borne in mind that the sauce already contains salt, sugar and other products.

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