Vegetable Stew (Lecsó) with Pork Loin Slices and Steamed Jasmine Rice
A Lighter Hungarian-Style Version
One of our classic Hungarian dishes is pork loin with lecsó (Hungarian Lecsó = Pepper and Tomato Stew). Years ago, this meal could be found on the menu of many small traditional restaurants, usually served with egg barley pasta or dumplings. Nowadays it has mostly disappeared, but I’m sure it still comes up at home when asking the question: “What should we cook today?”
The traditional recipe is made with smoked bacon. In this lighter version, I left that out and served it with jasmine rice instead of egg barley pasta. It would also taste great with bulgur. I personally love lecsó in every form and make it often during the summer. And summer lecsó can be made more exciting not only with squash or eggs, but also with a delicious roasted pork loin slice. So, who’s craving it already?
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Lunch and Dinner Ideas for Summer
Bring fresh, light, and vibrant flavors to your table with this collection of summer lunch and dinner recipes. You’ll also find zucchini-based dishes, refreshing pasta salads, and easy grilled meals, perfect for sunny days, garden lunches, or relaxed summer evenings.
All recipes are designed to be quick, simple, and nourishing, so you can enjoy cooking even on busy summer days.
Vegetable Stew (Lecsó) with Pork Loin Slices and Steamed Jasmine Rice
Ingredients
For the pork and vegetable stew
- 4 slices (400 g) boneless pork loin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 5 Hungarian sweet yellow pepper (or banana pepper / Cubanelle pepper)
- 5 tomatoes
- 3 pinches salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sweet red paprika powder (Hungarian)
- 50 ml water
- 1 pinch dried marjoram
Side dish
- 2 bags jasmine rice (2 × 125 g)
Instructions
- Trim the pork loin slices, removing any remaining bone fragments and excess fat. Rinse the meat and pat it dry with paper towels. Make small cuts around the edges and lightly score the meat in two places. This helps prevent the meat from curling up during cooking. Season with salt and pepper. (Sometimes I also add garlic granules.) Set aside while preparing the vegetables.
- Peel the onion, cut it in half, then slice it. Set aside.
- Wash the peppers, remove the stems and seeds completely by slicing them lengthwise in two places. If done correctly, you should get 4 long slices from each pepper. Dice them and place in a mixing bowl.
- Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems, and cut them into larger cubes. Add them to the peppers.
- Take a deep frying pan with a lid. Pour in the olive oil and heat it up. Add the pork loin slices and fry both sides until golden brown. Once done, transfer the meat to a plate and cover it. Remove any burnt meat bits from the pan so they don’t burn later.
- Add a little more olive oil to the pan and sauté the onion. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the paprika powder. Mix thoroughly, then pour in 50 ml water.
- Return the pan to the stove. Add the peppers and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid, and cook over high heat.
- Once it starts boiling, place the pork slices back into the pan and stir everything together. Cover again, reduce the heat to medium-low, and slowly simmer the meat and vegetables together for about 30 minutes.
- At the end, sprinkle with dried marjoram. Stir well, let it rest for a few minutes, and serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Calories and macros
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