lecsó

I am happy that I finally took the time to tell the world (or at least the ones who read the blog) about the art of cooking a great Hungarian dish called "lecsó". At my last visit to Budapest I managed to visit my grandma and took the opportunity to take some pictures and little movies of her cooking skills. So here we go:

We will need:

• 1-2 onions
  
• a hungarian sausage (best made with spicy ones, but you can take whatever you want)
  
• 3-4 tomatoes
  
• 3-4 paprikas (also known as capsicum but I don't care and will simply call it paprika)
  
• some paprika powder (the spice)
  
• a hungarian paste called "piros arany" - which means red gold. it is basically a salty paprika paste that can be quite spicy sometimes
  
• 2 eggs

1. we start by cutting the sausage - of course at this stage it is CRUCIAL that you try lot. I would say, as a general rule you should buy twice as much as you need. At least if you cook like I do. Also if you don't want to try yourself, just call me, I will gladly help at this stage.


2. cut the tomatoes into small pieces. also peel them if you like.


3. cut the paprika into small pieces


4. have the paprika spice ready


5. if you are very thorough - like my grandma - wash the eggs


6. and then put the egg in a cup so it can be quickly used later on


7. we are ready to start. heat the onions in a little oil until they "sweat" as they say


As this takes a while, we have time to take a picture of my grandma. We call her "Dadó" because that is what I called her when I was very young and couldn't really speak but tried anyway. Now everybody calls her like that.


8. when we are happy with the onions, we add a bit of paprika spice and the "piros arany"


9. now it's time to add the remaining sausages into the pan. This is your last chance to try them before they will be too hot to be eaten before the lecsó is finished!!!


10. when the sausages start jumping around and making that wonderful noise which makes you more hungry, it is time for the paprika to join the party. Of course we have to help the party a bit by stirring it up


11. we have to cover the pan at this stage so that the water from the paprika stays there


time for another picture of Dadó:


12. we can now add the tomatoes and stir them under the rest


13. if you didn't forget to put the lid back on, this is how it should look like after a while:


14. it's time to let it cook openly


15. mmmmmmm - looking good:


16. next the eggs join the rest to bind the sauce a little


17. ta-raa! This is how it should look like just before serving:


18. and this is how it will look like just a little later - call me if you need help to reach this stage!!!


it is best served with white bread which can be used also to "clean the pan". Of course I couldn't take any more pictures because I was busy eating and at this moment didn't really care any more ...

You can find all the pictures and videos on my flickr page