
Lecsó is sort of the Hungarian version of ratatouille 🇭🇺🍅🌶️
It’s a simple pepper–tomato–onion stew, deeply flavored with sweet Hungarian paprika and often enriched with sausage, bacon, or eggs. Unlike French ratatouille, lecsó is softer, juicier, and usually cooked down into a spoonable dish.
Classic Lecsó (Hungarian Pepper Stew)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard or oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2–3 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- 3–4 green Hungarian wax peppers (or bell peppers), sliced
- 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1½ cups canned tomatoes)
- Salt, to taste
Optional (very common):
- Smoked Hungarian sausage (kolbász), sliced
- Eggs (stirred in at the end)
- A little bacon fat for extra flavor
Instructions
- Heat lard/oil in a pan. Sauté onion until soft.
- Remove from heat, stir in paprika.
- Add peppers and tomatoes, season with salt.
- Simmer gently 25–30 minutes until juicy and tender.
- Add sausage or crack eggs in and gently stir if desired.
🥖 Serve with fresh bread, over rice, or alongside meats.
If you want, I can also give you:
- ✔️ Traditional kolbász version
- ✔️ Egg-finished (tojásos lecsó)
- ✔️ Grandma-style rustic version
Just tell me 😊









