Lecsó

Name: Lecsó
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Hungary
Ingredients: 800 g thin-skinned yellow peppers; 500 g ripe tomatoes; 2 onions; 3 tbsp vegetable lard or oil; 1 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika; 1 tsp salt; 4 eggs; Black pepper

Local name: Lecsó

Also written: lesco

A Hungarian stew of peppers and tomatoes softened with paprika, finished with beaten eggs that set in the sauce.

Published on 22 July 2026·Updated on 26 September 2026

Gluten-free#peppers#tomatoes#paprika#eggs#summer

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 50 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Slice the onions into half moons and soften them in the fat over low heat for 10 minutes.
Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika for 20 seconds.
Add the peppers cut into strips, season with salt and cover. Sweat for 15 minutes over medium heat.
Skin the tomatoes after 30 seconds in boiling water, cut them into wedges and add them.
Reduce uncovered for 10 minutes, until the juices coat the peppers.
Beat the eggs, pour them over the stew and stir for 1 minute away from high heat. Season with pepper and serve with bread if you are not avoiding gluten.

Hungarian tv paprika peppers have thin walls that collapse in 15 minutes. Failing that, pick pale yellow peppers rather than thick red ones.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 189 kcal
Protein: 11.1 g
Fat: 6.4 g
Carbohydrate: 25.6 g
Fibre: 7.7 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why take the pan off the heat before adding the paprika?

Paprika scorches quickly in hot fat and turns distinctly bitter, which nothing later can fix. Off the heat, the residual warmth is enough to release its colour and aroma in about twenty seconds, before the peppers go in.

Which peppers should I use if I cannot find Hungarian tv paprika?

Choose pale yellow, thin-skinned peppers, which collapse in about fifteen minutes. Thick-fleshed red peppers are still crunchy at that point and give a sweeter, less silky stew. If you use those, cook them longer with the lid on.

How do I make this lecsó vegan?

Use oil rather than lard and leave out the eggs: the paprika-scented pepper stew stands on its own, served with rice, or bread if you are not avoiding gluten. Plenty of Hungarian versions are eaten eggless anyway, as a side dish.

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