Pipérade and Lecsó

Although it’s technically fall here in Chicago we’re still straining to hold onto the last fading glimmers of summer. This week a client very kindly gave me some produce from her garden: bell and finger-hot peppers. With some of them I made a pipérade. It’s a handy thing to have in your bag of tricks for perking up an otherwise dull meal.

Pipérade is a Basque specialty. It’s excellent as a garniture for a plain omelet, a roasted chicken breast, or, as I used it, with a roasted pork chop.

Pipérade

½ cup onions, peeled and sliced thinly
½ cup green or red bell peppers, washed, trimmed, and sliced thinly
Olive oil
½ clove garlic, peeled and mashed
Small pinch of cayenne pepper
2 or 3 tomatoes, washed, seeded, juiced, and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the onions and peppers in the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, cooking until they are tender but not browned.
2. Stir in the garlic and cayenne.
3. Lay the tomatoes over the onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper.
4. Cover and cook slowly for five minutes.
5. Uncover, raised the heat, and reduce for a few minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the juices have almost entirely evaporated.
6. Correct the seasoning and serve.

The Hungarians make a very similar thing called lecsó (pr. roughly le-cho).

Lecsó

2 Tbsp. lard
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
1 lb. green Italian or frying peppers, washed, trimmed, and sliced
3 large tomatoes
½ Tbsp. sugar
½ Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. paprika

1. Heat the lard in a skillet over very low heat.
2. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the pepper and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and paprika. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes longer.
5. Correct the seasoning.

With really good, vine-ripened tomatoes the sugar could be eliminated.

This can be used as the pipérade is or mixed with cooked rice and smoked sausage and used as an appetizer. It can also be served as a main course with smoked or fresh sausage (if served with smoked sausage reduce the salt accordingly).

As you can see this dish differs from the pipérade mostly in the use of different pepper (and a greater tolerance for heat). It’s closely related to the Serbian djuvets. It also resembles some Indian dishes, claimed be of Parsi origin. I like to imagine that the Romany people carried this dish from India to the Turks, Serbians, Hungarians, and eventually to France.