Cucumber and Tomato Lecho for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make cucumber lecho? Gather all your ingredients. Use pickling-type cucumbers (the bumpy kind) — small ones, and they don't have to be perfectly straight. Wash all the vegetables under running water. Core and seed the peppers. Peel the carrot. We'll be peeling the tomatoes, so check whether the skin comes off easily or whether you'll need to blanch them. Use refined oil and 9% vinegar; if you have vinegar essence, dilute it ahead of time per the instructions.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the carrot into thin strips and the pepper into thin strips. Sauté in vegetable oil for about 5 minutes, until the edges start to brown.

3. Step 3:

   

   Pour filtered water into the pan and cover it quickly — it will spatter. Simmer the vegetables over low heat until soft. The pepper skins should turn almost soft; this matters, because under-cooked pepper stays tough in the finished dish.

4. Step 4:

   

   Remove the stem ends from the tomatoes and peel them. Mine peeled easily; if yours don't, score an X in the skin and pour boiling water over them for 5-10 minutes. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces and put them in a blender. Add the finely grated garlic.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pulse the tomatoes into a smooth blend. This tomato purée is the base of any lecho.

6. Step 6:

   

   Pour the purée into a pot and add the pepper and carrot.

7. Step 7:

   

   Trim both ends off the cucumbers and cut them into batons. If they're overripe, peel them first and remove the tough seeds.

8. Step 8:

   

   Add the cucumbers to the pot and bring the lecho to a boil, then add the salt, hot pepper, sugar, and vinegar. It may look like there's too little liquid, but that's exactly right at this stage — the cucumbers will release more of their own juice.

9. Step 9:

   

   Simmer the lecho, covered, over low heat for about half an hour until done. Meanwhile, sterilize the jars however you like, and just pour boiling water over the lids.

10. Step 10:

    

    The lecho is done when the cucumbers change color and all the vegetables are soft. Taste it — this is your last chance to add more salt or sugar if needed.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the lecho into jars, seal them, and turn them upside down. Wrap the jars in a warm blanket and leave them to cool completely at room temperature, then move them to the pantry for storage. I ended up with one quart jar, plus a little extra for tasting right away.