Delicious lecho with rice for winter

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare the ingredients. Rice for such a billet is better to use long, not steamed, so that it does not turn into porridge after heat treatment and during storage. Vegetables are mine. Carrots are cleaned and grated, or if the workpiece is prepared in large quantities, then carrots can be crushed using a food processor.

2. Step 2:

   

   Tomatoes are better to use ripe, medium-sized. If tomatoes have a rough skin, it is better to remove it by pouring boiling water over the tomatoes. Vegetables are washed, we cut out the attachment point of the peduncle and cut each fruit into large pieces, if the tomatoes are not very large, then you can cut them into quarters. You can also simply chop tomatoes with a meat grinder or blender to a mushy state.

3. Step 3:

   

   Bulgarian pepper is washed, let the water drain. We cut out a peduncle with a seed pod from the peppers. Cut the pulp of peppers into strips or cubes.

4. Step 4:

   

   Peel the onion and cut it into rings, halves of rings or cubes. Garlic is cleaned and finely chopped with a knife.

5. Step 5:

   

   Wash the rice thoroughly, several times, until the water becomes transparent.

7. Step 6:

   

   Put the cooked tomato mass in a large enameled saucepan, add salt, sugar and vegetable oil. Stir and put on fire. So that the mass does not burn and does not spoil the taste of lecho, from the very beginning it needs to be constantly stirred, preferably with a wooden spoon. Boil this mixture for 5 minutes from the moment it boils.

8. Step 7:

   

   Then we send other cooked vegetables to the pan: carrots, bell peppers, onions and garlic. Bring the vegetable mixture to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add spices: peppercorns, allspice, bay leaf, ground paprika. You can add any other spices to taste. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes, remove the bay leaf from the lecho so that it does not give bitterness to the dish.

9. Step 8:

   

   You need to prepare the jars in advance. We wash them in cold water, with soda solution, sterilize them in a water bath, in an oven or in a microwave. The lids are washed and boiled.

10. Step 9:

    

    Add the dry washed rice to the vegetable mixture. Boil the workpiece for about 20 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula. During this time, the rice will not be completely cooked. But it will reach readiness during the sterilization of the workpiece. Lecho is laid out in jars. We roll them up with lids, turn the jars upside down, wrap them tightly with a blanket and leave them overnight. When the jars cool down, we put them away for storage in a cool place. Bon appetit!