7 delicious zucchini lecho recipes for the winter

Classic zucchini lecho

Lecho spread around the world from Hungary. Like any popular dish, there's no exact recipe for it—it's often modified and refined to suit individual tastes. Not just every country, but every home cook can offer several variations!

The following products will be needed:

• 4 kg of zucchini;
• 4 kg tomatoes;
• 1 kg bell pepper;
• 3 heads of garlic;
• 150 ml vegetable oil;
• 100 ml vinegar;
• 100 g sugar;
• 80 g of salt.

The zucchini is cut and placed in a saucepan. The tomatoes are peeled, the peppers are seeded, the vegetables are chopped, and the mixture is poured into the zucchini. Next, add the salt and sugar along with the vegetable oil.

Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, until foaming subsides, then add the crushed garlic and vinegar. After 3 minutes, pour the mixture into the prepared jars and sterilize in a water bath for 20–30 minutes, depending on the volume. Then, screw on the lids and store the jars.

Video: "Delicious Zucchini Lecho Recipe for the Winter"

This video will show you how to make a delicious zucchini lecho for the winter.

Recipe without sterilization

For winter preserves, it's always necessary to sanitize jars. Jars can be sanitized in various ways: in water, in the oven, or in the microwave. Beforehand, they're washed with baking soda. But not every housewife wants to bother with sterilizing salad. To avoid sterilization, boil the vegetable mixture until tender, then pour it into jars.

For this lecho you need:

• zucchini – 2 kg;
• tomatoes – 10 pcs.;
• onions – 10 pcs.;
• sweet pepper – 5 pcs.;
• 200 ml oil;
• 350 g tomato paste;
• 200 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tbsp. vinegar.

Stir the tomato paste, sugar, salt, and vinegar into clean water (1 liter). Add the diced zucchini and place on the stove. Once it boils, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cut the onion into half rings, the pepper into strips, and the tomatoes into small slices, place them in the pan and cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the dish from the heat and place it in jars, seal with lids.

Simple appetizers

Winter calls for bright colors and a variety of flavors, so it's tempting to prepare at least a few jars of different snacks for preserving, since most of the ingredients are the same. The size of the vegetables, the spices, their quantity, the ratio of ingredients, and, of course, the various components are all important.

With grapes

For 1 large zucchini, take 300 g of green grapes, 3 tomatoes, 1 sweet pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, half a hot pepper, 100 g of tomato paste, 50 ml of refined vegetable oil, 0.5 tbsp. of vinegar, 1 incomplete teaspoon of basil, a few black peppercorns.

The bell peppers are roasted, then peeled and chopped. The tomatoes are blanched, peeled, chopped, pureed, and added to a saucepan. Add the garlic and tomato paste, fried in butter, and bring to a boil. Then add zucchini strips up to 3 cm long and finely chopped hot peppers, and cook for 10 minutes.

The grapes are juiced and poured over the vegetables along with the oil. Basil is added, vinegar is added, and the jars are boiled for 2 minutes. Peppercorns are tossed directly into the jars, and the lecho is poured on top. The jars are then lidded and wrapped until completely cooled, upside down.

With eggplants

Eggplant adds a piquant note to the delicate flavor of this zucchini appetizer, making it more filling and creating the illusion of fat with a minimum of calories.

Puree 2.5 kg of ripe red tomatoes, add 0.5 kg of diced carrots and a tablespoon of sunflower oil, bring to a boil, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add 400 g of finely chopped onion, 100 g of crushed garlic, and 1 kg of julienned bell pepper to the tomatoes. After boiling, add 900 g of finely diced zucchini and 400 g of peeled eggplant, roughly diced. Add 230 g of sugar and 2 tbsp of salt. Simmer, stirring, for 20 minutes, then add 1 tbsp of vinegar and turn off the heat after 7 minutes.

While still hot, the finished snack is poured into sterilized jars, sealed with lids, turned upside down, and wrapped so that it cools for a couple of days. Then, store.

Orange Summer

To prepare this vibrant summer dish, place 3 kg of diced zucchini, 15 yellow or orange (bright orange) bell peppers cut into strips, ½ a finely chopped hot pepper, a head of garlic, 2 liters of tomato juice, 1 teaspoon of dill seeds, 1 cup of refined vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of salt, and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, add a cup of vinegar, and remove from heat after 5 minutes.

The salad is placed in prepared jars, sealed with lids, turned upside down, and wrapped in a blanket for two days.

With tomatoes and peppers

Lecho is always made with tomatoes, tomato juice, or tomato paste, but this appetizer requires careful preparation so that the tomato pieces are stewed without falling apart; they should feel like a distinct ingredient in the dish. It's best to use a variety of thick-walled, not overly juicy, but fleshy.

Ingredients needed to make 2.5 liters of the finished snack (weight of already peeled vegetables is indicated):

• 1 kg of zucchini;
• 1.5 kg of fleshy ripe tomatoes;
• 4 large thick-walled sweet peppers;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 100 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil;
• 1 tbsp. vinegar.

The tomatoes are cut into wedges, the zucchini into cubes, and the peppers into strips. First, the tomatoes are placed on the stove with salt and sugar and simmered for 10 minutes. Second, the zucchini, pepper, and vegetable oil are added. Cook for 15 minutes. Next, chopped garlic is added and simmered for 15 minutes. Stir very carefully to ensure the vegetables retain their shape. Vinegar is added just before the end of cooking.

The finished snack is poured into sterilized jars, turned over, and wrapped for a couple of days.

Kazakh lecho “Yurcha”

For this dish you will need:

• 3 kg peeled and diced zucchini;
• 1 kg of tomatoes;
• 1 kg sweet red pepper, cut into strips;
• 3 heads of garlic;
• 1 pod of hot pepper;
• a bunch of parsley;
• 4/5 cup vegetable oil;
• 4/5 cup sugar;
• 3 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tbsp. vinegar essence (70%).

Chop the tomatoes and place them in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the hot pepper, oil, salt, and sugar. Once the saucepan boils, add the chopped vegetables and simmer for 60 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs five minutes before the end of the cooking time, and then pour in the essence after the saucepan turns off. Place everything in jars, seal with lids, and wrap tightly.

Tips for housewives

It's best to use young zucchini with unformed seeds. Mature zucchini will require peeling and removing the core with the seeds.

Bell peppers should be ripe, fleshy, and juicy; multicolored ones look great. Onions should be chosen based on taste: if you're making a spicy dish, use a hot white one; for a more delicate flavor, use a blue one.

It's best to press the garlic through a garlic press and then chop it in a blender. If this isn't possible, you can simply crush the clove on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife, then chop it as finely as possible. Some people prefer to crush it in a mortar.