Lecho Uncle Ben's under the simple and uncomplicated name Uncle Ben's appeared in Russia during perestroika. It was often advertised, and everyone wanted to try it.
Therefore, our enterprising housewives with imagination came up with their own, special, Russian version. Store-bought canned food soon disappeared from sale. But the homemade lecho recipes remain. And many housewives still use these blanks. And they love them with all their hearts!
Let's pay tribute to this simple but incredibly tasty salad today. And we'll prepare it for the winter. Moreover, you can find many recipes for this real miracle.
Lecho for the winter with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers and carrots
This option with fresh tomatoes can be called a classic of that same store product. The preparation is simple. Any housewife can handle it. Well, the result is excellent!
What you will need
- Tomatoes – 3 kg;
- pepper – 25 pcs;
- carrots – 5 pcs;
- onion (large) – 5 pcs;
- sugar - glass;
- salt - tablespoon;
- sunflower oil – 1 cup;
- vinegar (9%) – 100 ml.
It is better to take tomatoes when they are ripe, but at the same time they should not have any damage, much less mold.
How to cook
- Wash the tomatoes well and grind in a meat grinder.
- Pour the finished mixture into a large saucepan and add sunflower oil to it.
- Add salt and sugar.
- Place on the burner and boil for 15 minutes.
- Wash the sweet pepper well, cut into strips, and be sure to remove all the seeds.
- Peel the washed carrots and grate them.
- Peel the onion and cut into half rings.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the boiling tomatoes. Cooking - boiling time - 15 minutes. Add vinegar, place in sterile jars and seal immediately.
How to make eggplant lecho at home
It happens that you have some eggplants left and you just wonder what to cook? Use this recipe, which will be an excellent addition to any side dish.
What you will need
- Tomatoes – 2 kg;
- eggplants – 1 kg;
- bell peppers, onions and carrots – 0.5 kg each;
- garlic – 1 head;
- granulated sugar – 1 cup;
- oil – 1 glass;
- salt – 2 tbsp. spoons;
- vinegar 70% – 1 tbsp. spoon.
Of course, the preparation is more like a snack. Although there is no consensus here. But it is not the name that is important, but the result itself. The dish looks very bright, and on the table it will become a real decoration!
How to cook
- Wash the tomatoes and pass through a meat grinder.
- Peel the blue ones and cut into cubes.
- Also wash, peel and cut bell peppers, onions and carrots - preferably the same size.
- Place everything in one large container, add salt, sugar and butter.
- Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes until the vegetables are completely cooked.
- Add finely chopped garlic, pour in vinegar, cover with a lid, wait another 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
Unfold, roll up and store at room temperature.
Cooking secrets
“Uncle Bens” gained its popularity due to the fact that this product is very delicate, while being able to have different shades of flavor. To prepare this sauce yourself at home, you need to take into account some cooking secrets, which are as follows:
- The sauce itself plays an important role in the Alkan Bens salad. Its aroma and taste will largely depend on the seasonings used during cooking. To obtain a tasty, tender, aromatic product, the proportions of seasonings and spices that are indicated in the Uncle Bensa recipes must be strictly observed.
- A quality dish can only be obtained from good ingredients. When purchasing zucchini for the Uncle Bens salad recipe, you need to make a choice in favor of ripe, intact and young vegetables.
- To make the salad look beautiful, it is recommended to cut the pieces into approximately the same shape. As a rule, before preparing Uncle Bens, zucchini is cut into cubes or bars.
- The prepared salad can be stored for a longer time if the vegetables are thoroughly washed during preparation and the jars and lids are sterilized.
- It is best to roll Uncle Bens salad for the winter into 0.5 and 1 liter jars. However, you can take containers of other sizes.
And now you can begin to consider the most popular and simple recipes for Uncle Bens salad.
Lecho Ankle Bens with rice and vegetables recipe for the winter
A delicious, uncomplicated appetizer. Here is the usual method - with grated vegetables (can be cut arbitrarily). But in this case, the cooking time will increase.
What you will need
- Tomatoes – 2.5 kg;
- bell peppers, onions and carrots – 700 g each;
- hot pepper – 1 pc.;
- rice – 200 g;
- granulated sugar – 2/3 cup;
- oil – 150 ml;
- vinegar - 2.5 tbsp. spoons;
- salt – 1.5 tbsp. spoons.
We choose ripe tomatoes. You should not use too meaty ones - they are ideal for tomato paste or homemade ketchup.
How to cook
- Twist clean tomatoes. Place in a large, thick-bottomed bowl.
- Peel the carrots and also chop them with a meat grinder. Throw in the tomatoes.
- Twist the onion and add to the rest of the vegetables.
- Add salt and sugar. Add oil, cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes.
- Rinse the cereal several times. Place in a common container and cook for 15′, stirring continuously.
- Now let's add the chopped sweet peppers. Simmer until the rice is completely cooked.
- At the end, pour in vinegar, place in jars, roll up and leave until completely cool.
Store at room temperature in the pantry.
Cooking process
Before preparing Uncle Bens salad, all vegetables should be washed under cold water and then dried on a towel. Zucchini is cut into thin strips or cubes.
It is necessary to make cross-shaped cuts on the tomatoes. After this, the tomatoes are dipped into boiling water, and after two minutes they are removed using a slotted spoon and transferred to a container with cold water. After about a minute, they are taken out of the water and peeled. The tomato pulp should be cut into small cubes.
The onions must be peeled and then cut into very thin half rings.
Hot and bell peppers are cut in half lengthwise, the seeds are removed, and the pulp is cut into thin strips.
After this, you need to mix refined oil, table vinegar, granulated sugar, non-iodized coarse salt, and curry seasoning in a saucepan. All this must be brought to a boil.
Zucchini is dipped into the resulting marinade, and the mixture is cooked for about 10 minutes. After this, sweet and hot peppers and onions are added. Vegetables are stewed for another 10 minutes. Next add tomatoes, cook the mixture for about 10 minutes, then add chopped garlic. After adding the garlic, the mixture is simmered for 2 minutes, and then the salad is removed from the heat. The finished dish is laid out in prepared containers, and the containers are rolled up. The jars must be left upside down.
The finished salad has an unusual taste: sweet and sour, but spicy. It is ideal for any meat dish, as well as poultry.
Homemade vegetable lecho with pumpkin
An original, tasty and healthy snack. The base here is soft, aromatic pumpkin. And if you choose the nutmeg variety, it will turn out even tastier!
What you will need
- Pumpkin – 1.2 kg;
- bell pepper, onion – 0.5 kg each;
- garlic – 4 cloves;
- butter and sugar - 100 g each;
- vinegar – 50 ml;
- tomato juice – 300 ml;
- salt – 30 g.
You can make tomato juice yourself, or you can use the store-bought version. But in the first case, the workpiece will turn out natural. And in the second case, the components are of little use...
How to cook
- Peel the pumpkin and cut into small cubes. The total number of finished cubes should be 1 kg 200 grams.
- Cut the onion into half rings.
- Cut the peeled pepper into slices.
- Place all the fruits into one large container. Without stirring, pour in tomato juice.
- Put on fire, add salt, add butter, add sugar. Simmer on low heat 30′.
- At the very end of cooking, add vinegar. Let simmer for 2 minutes and pour into sterile jars.
Homemade treatment is a real lifesaver for the whole family. It's not only delicious, but also incredibly nutritious. The preparation will definitely be appreciated by everyone - guests, relatives, and friends. And you will receive the title of best housewife!
Cooking procedure
The recipe states that all the vegetables should be prepared first. To do this, zucchini and garlic are peeled, the seeds are removed from bell peppers, and the seal in the stem area is removed from tomatoes. Then the tomatoes must be cut into regular slices, then passed through a meat grinder or chopped using a blender.
The zucchini is cut into small cubes and then placed in a cauldron. The tomato mass is mixed with granulated sugar and salt, as well as refined vegetable oil. The resulting mixture is poured into the zucchini and the mixture is placed on the fire.
It is necessary to simmer the mixture of tomato and zucchini on the fire for about 30 minutes, while the mixture must be constantly stirred so that it does not burn.
While the mixture is stewing, you can cut the bell pepper into small cubes. Then it is added to the main mixture, after which everything is simmered for about 15 minutes. Garlic cloves should be crushed with a garlic press. Then it is added to the main vegetables, and table vinegar is also poured into it. The mixture is simmered for another 5 minutes, then the pan with the prepared salad is removed from the stove, and the preparation is laid out in a pre-sterilized container.
The jars are rolled up with metal lids using a special key, and then turned over and left to cool. As a rule, this requires at least 12 hours. In this case, it is not necessary to cover the jars with a blanket, because the vegetables have already undergone the necessary heat treatment.
After completely cooling, the snack must be sent to the pantry or basement. The finished salad is somewhat similar to a thick sauce with vegetable pieces made from peppers and zucchini. It has a pronounced garlic taste and aroma, and is classified as a savory snack. Spicy lovers can add chili pepper to the sauce to taste.
