Various preparations from vegetables for the winter are always popular among housewives. But, perhaps, it is lecho that is in the first place among them. Perhaps this situation has arisen due to the variety of recipes that are used to make this dish. Although even in the simplest classical version, when lecho consists only of sweet peppers, tomatoes and onions, this dish brings the aromas of sultry summer and the rich taste of harvest autumn to the winter and spring menus. Recently, with the advent of kitchen units designed to facilitate work in the kitchen, such as a multicooker, you can start cooking lecho even in the hottest summer season. In addition, when preparing lecho in a slow cooker for the winter, you no longer need to worry that some vegetables may burn, and the sauce will escape from the pan.
But the taste of the resulting dishes and the convenience of cooking are the indisputable advantages of using a multicooker.
Below are several recipes for a multicooker lecho, using which you can provide your family with tasty and healthy products for the winter.
Traditional Recipe "It Couldn't Be Easier"
If you have never cooked any preparations for the winter in a multicooker, then it is best to use the lecho recipe below. It is so easy to prepare that even a beginner can handle it.
So, first you have to find and prepare the following ingredients:
- Sweet bell pepper - 1.5 kg;
- Tomatoes - 1.5 kg or tomato paste (400 grams);
- Onions - 0.5 kg;
- Refined oil - 125 ml;
- Greens (any according to your preferences: basil, dill, cilantro, celery, parsley) - 100 g;
- Ground black pepper - 5 g;
- Vinegar -1-2 teaspoons;
- Salt and granulated sugar to taste.
What is their preparation? All vegetables are thoroughly washed, all seeds with internal partitions are removed from the pepper and the tails are removed. The place where the stalk grows is cut out of the tomatoes. The onion is peeled from the husk, and the greens are sorted out so that no yellow or dry parts remain in it.
At the next stage, the pepper is cut into either rings or strips. It will look especially beautiful in lecho cooked in a slow cooker, sweet peppers of different colors: red, orange, yellow, black.
The tomatoes are cut into small wedges.
The tomatoes are then mashed using a blender, mixer, or food processor.
The onion is cut into rings or half rings. The greens are finely chopped with a knife.
Peppers and onions are placed in the multicooker bowl, which are poured with tomato puree. It should completely cover the pieces of vegetables. All other ingredients are immediately added: vegetable oil, sugar, spices, salt, chopped herbs and vinegar.
The "extinguishing" mode is switched on for about 40 minutes and the lid is tightly closed. While the lecho is being prepared, it is necessary to sterilize the cans and lids in any convenient way: in the oven, steamed or in the microwave.
After a specified time, lecho can be laid out on the prepared cans. But first you should try the dish. Add salt and sugar if necessary, and check the peppers for readiness. If the latter seems hard to you, turn on the multicooker in the same mode for another 10-15 minutes.The exact cooking time of lecho depends on the power of your model.
Lecho "in a hurry"
This recipe for lecho in a multicooker is also quite simple, although it is more diverse in composition, besides, vegetables in it retain their taste and useful properties better.
What you need:
- Sweet bell pepper - 0.5 kg;
- Tomatoes - 0.3 kg;
- Onions - 0.2 kg;
- Carrots - 0.25 kg;
- Garlic - a few cloves;
- Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon;
- The greens you love - 50 grams;
- Sugar and salt to taste.
Carrots and onions are well washed, peeled and cut into half rings and strips. Oil is poured into the multicooker bowl and cooked vegetables are placed. Set the "baking" mode for 7-8 minutes.
While the carrots and onions are baked, the tomatoes are washed, cut and chopped on a grater or using a blender. Then the resulting tomato puree is added to the multicooker bowl and the "stewing" mode is turned on for 10-12 minutes.
While the vegetables are stewing, the peppers are seeded and cut into rings. After the signal has sounded for the end of the program, the chopped peppers are added to the rest of the vegetables and the stewing program is switched on again for 40 minutes.
Garlic and greens are cleaned of possible contamination, washed and finely chopped with a knife or meat grinder.
30 minutes after the start of stewing the pepper, sugar and salt and garlic with herbs are added to the vegetables in a slow cooker. In total, the cooking time for lecho according to this recipe should take exactly 60 minutes. However, depending on the power of your multicooker model, it can vary within 10-15 minutes.
If you are preparing lecho according to this recipe for the winter, then it is advisable to sterilize the cans with the finished dish before spinning: half-liter - for 20 minutes, liter - 30 minutes.
The resulting lecho is universal in the way of use - it can be used both as an independent side dish or snack, and it can be seasoned with borscht, stewed with meat or added to scrambled eggs.
