Tag: Courgettes

Leczo

  • My Polish friend came round and talked about a sauce she had made the night before.
  • I had never heard of it!
  • Maybe it is more popular in different parts of Poland?
  • I did a bit of reseach – it was not in my “Polish Bible”.
  • But I now know it is comes from a sauce that is is popular in Hungary.
  • So of course you can expect red peppers.
  • The following is the recipe from my friend.
  • I will look at some different versions later.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 red peppers – chopped (yellow or orange – depending on availability).
  • 2 onions – chopped
  • 2 courgettes – chopped
  • 250g Polish sausage eg Silesian – chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes – chopped or 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • A little vegetable stock.
  • Salt & pepper to taste (might not be needed)
  • *
  • 2 cloves garlic – chopped fine
  • 1 teaspoon hot paprika or chilli flakes

METHOD

  • Chop all the ingredients into cubes.
  • Use a large saucepan and add a little oil.
  • Lightly fry the onions.
  • Add the peppers, mix together and carry on frying on a low heat.
  • Add the courgettes and repeat.
  • You might need to add a little stock – do not let it boil dry.
  • Add the sausage, mix and add a little stock.
  • Add the tomatoes or the tomato purée and more stock.
  • With a lid on, simmer gently for around 20 minutes adding stock when needed.
  • Checking and stirring during this time.
  • Season to taste.
  • * 
  • Add the chopped garlic, hot paprika or chilli flakes before serving.

Usually served with pasta or rice or with Polish potato pancakes (This reminds me of gulasz with potato pancakes.)

I would think of this as a more winter dish in some ways but all the vegetables are around in the late summer.

Some people bottle the vegetable part of this recipe and add the sausage at the end.

Kotlety with Courgettes – 2

  • I got this idea from one of my new Polish cookery books.
  • It is similar to my Kotlety mielone  –  large meatballs with the addition of coarse grated courgette.
  • Instead of the usual way I do my onions – the chopped green parts of spring onions were used.

Ingredients

  • 400-500g minced pork
  • Green parts of a bunch of spring onions
  • 1 bread roll or 1 slice white bread
  • Milk to soak the bread
  • 1 large courgette – coarsely grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
  • Salt & pepper
  • *
  • Dried breadcrumbs – Bułka tarta
  • *
  • Sunflower oil to fry the kotlety.

Method

  • Soak the bread in the milk for around 20 minutes.
  • Squeeze out the excess milk.
  • Chop the green parts of the spring onions into small circles.
  •  
  • In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together except for the dried breadcrumbs, it is best to do this using both hands, making sure that all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

  • If the mixture seems too wet then add a tablespoon full of dried breadcrumbs and mix this in.

  • Pour some dried breadcrumbs onto a large plate or board.

  • Try to make each one the same size, take a handful of the mixture and press it between your hands to make a flattened circle and then place this in the dried breadcrumbs and turn it over to cover both sides and edges.

  • Once coated place them on a tray dusted with breadcrumbs until you have used all the mixture up.

  • Shallow fry the kotlety in hot oil, depending on the frying pan size,  you can do 3 to 4 at a time, turning them over so that both sides are done.

  • Place them on kitchen roll on a plate or metal tray till they are all cooked –  you can keep them warm in a low oven.

     

UPDATE – 3 April 2023

  • The original recipe used minced chicken.
  • I tried this out yesterday.
  • We all thought PORK was much tastier!