How to make cucumber lecho for the winter: simple step-by-step recipes and storage instructions

You can prepare cucumber lecho for the winter; recipes for it use a variety of ingredients, making them radically different. Homemakers will no longer be at a loss for what kind of preserves to make, as these original and interesting salads, both as a standalone dish and as a side dish, are sure to please everyone.

Which cucumbers are suitable for making lecho?

To make cucumber lecho, you don't have to worry too much about choosing the right cucumbers—any kind will do, from overgrown giants to gherkins, as they need to be cut into either strips or half rings during preparation. The most important thing is to process them fresh.

Delicious recipes for the winter

There are many good recipes lecho for the winter featuring cucumbers and other ingredients. The most interesting ones will be discussed below.

Classic recipe

It's no wonder this cucumber dish is so popular among housewives. They happily make lecho from fresh cucumbers, and in winter, the preserves are quickly devoured.

Recipe ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• sweet pepper;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• head of garlic;
• vegetable oil;
• 9% vinegar solution.

Prepare the vegetables: wash the cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers, peel and rinse the garlic. Cut the tomatoes into pieces and grate each piece, discarding the remaining skin. Halve the bell peppers, and remove the seeds and stems. Then chop the peppers into 3 mm cubes. Cut the green peppers lengthwise into quarters and crosswise. The strips are up to 7 cm long.

Combine chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers in a suitable container, add salt and sunflower oil. Stir and add crushed garlic.

To make lecho, place the saucepan over the stove and bring it to a temperature of 100°C. Then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, season with vinegar. The salad is packaged into sterile jars and sealed.

A quick way with ketchup

This recipe is one of those where instead of tomatoes, a processed product is used - ketchup.

Recipe ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• head of onion;
• ketchup;
• dill greens;
• garlic cloves;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• 9% vinegar solution;
• water.

Soak the prepared cucumbers in a bowl of cold water for an hour or two. This will allow them to absorb the moisture and become crispier. Then, remove them and chop them into half rings or circles. The amount of time depends on the size of the cucumbers.

Peel and dice a medium-sized onion into thin strips or cubes (optional). Then sprinkle the vegetables with salt and granulated sugar and add crushed garlic. Stir and let sit for half an hour. During this time, the juices will release and the salt and sugar will dissolve. After this time, add chopped dill, pour in the ketchup, and stir.

Then add water and turn the heat on. The amount of liquid can be adjusted based on the desired consistency. Each woman preparing this preserve should also determine the spiciness of the ketchup for herself. If you want a spicy lecho, you'll choose a product with chili, and if you want a mild one, you'll choose mild types of ketchup.

Once it starts boiling, skim off any foam and simmer for 20 minutes. Then pour the hot dish into sterilized jars and seal.

With cucumbers and tomatoes

Lecho with such common main ingredients is in great demand among our women and their families.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• garlic cloves;
• salt and sugar;
• 9% vinegar solution;
• sunflower oil;
• khmeli-suneli seasoning;
• ground coriander;
• black pepper powder.

Tomatoes are prepared and made into tomato paste. To do this, they are washed, chopped, and boiled for 15 minutes. Then, they are strained and placed in a lecho-cooking container. Sunflower oil and vinegar are added, along with prepared and crushed garlic, salt, granulated sugar, and black pepper. Bring to a temperature of 100°C.

Meanwhile, prepare the cucumbers. Cut them into any shape you like. After the tomato sauce comes to a boil, add them to the pan. Simmer for another third of an hour. Finally, add the seasonings (coriander and hops-suneli). Arrange them in sterile jars and seal.

With sweet pepper

If you preserve vegetables correctly, they will be just as delicious as fresh ones. You can find out with this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• sweet pepper pods of different colors;
• tomatoes;
• sunflower oil;
• garlic heads;
• salt and granulated sugar;
• black and allspice peas;
• bay leaf;
• 9% vinegar solution.

Wash all the vegetables. If the cucumbers are old, peel the thin skin. Cut the green vegetables into either slices or half-rings. Remove the stems and seeds from the bell peppers and cut into large wedges. Juice the tomatoes. Alternatively, you can grind them in a meat grinder or puree them in a blender.

Place cucumbers and pepper slices in a large bowl, then pour in tomato juice. Then add salt and sugar, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes to dissolve. Then add vinegar and vegetable oil.

Place the pan over the stove and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the crushed garlic. Cook again for 5 minutes, then pour into sterile jars and seal.

Finger-licking good salad

The name alone suggests this salad is delicious, but it's not difficult to prepare.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• sweet pepper;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• vegetable oil;
• 9% vinegar solution.

The cucumbers are prepared and cut into any desired shape. The bell peppers are cut and the stems and seeds are removed. Then they are cut into strips.

The tomatoes are washed and blanched to remove the skin. To do this, make a cross-shaped cut in each vegetable, opposite the stem. They are then placed in boiling water, and after a minute or two, they are removed and placed in cold water, possibly with ice.

After the procedure, the skin comes off easily.

Once the vegetables are prepped, heat a large saucepan with sunflower oil. Add the cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. Add salt, sugar, and vinegar. Stir occasionally and bring the mixture to a temperature of 100°C. Then, simmer the lecho for half an hour. Finally, fill sterilized jars with the mixture and seal.

Assorted

This lecho recipe includes familiar vegetables, plus carrots. This whole set of ingredients enriches the flavor of this cucumber dish.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• carrot;
• sweet pepper;
• garlic heads;
• sunflower oil;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• 9% vinegar solution;
• a pod of chili pepper (for those who like it spicy).

Prepare the main ingredients. Wash all the vegetables, remove the stems from the cucumbers and peppers, and chop them finely. Grind the tomatoes, and add salt, granulated sugar, vinegar, and sunflower oil to the resulting mixture. Add chopped garlic and green onions.

To give the lecho a more expressive flavor, some vegetables are fried at the beginning of the cooking process. Take a frying pan, add vegetable oil, and heat it. Then add the bell pepper and carrot half-rings. Cook these vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After frying, add the carrots and peppers to the main pot. Turn the heat on and, once it starts to boil, simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally. Immediately after cooking, transfer the lecho to sterilized glass containers and seal.

With onions in tomato sauce

The following successful recipe is sure to please any home cook. It's simple and features tomato paste and onions.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• onion heads;
• sweet pepper;
• a jar of tomato paste;
• vegetable oil;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• 9% vinegar solution;
• water.

Prepare and slice the cucumbers. Meanwhile, dilute the tomato paste with water, add salt and sugar, and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped onion and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Lastly, add the green onions and, after 10 minutes, the vinegar. Turn off the heat and pour into prepared jars, sealing them.

Without sterilization

Nowadays, lecho without sterilization is nothing new, and it's not difficult to make, but this recipe is a favorite among many housewives.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• sweet and hot peppers;
• carrot;
• head of garlic;
• granulated sugar and salt;
• vegetable oil;
• 9% vinegar solution.

Prepare the vegetables. Tomatoes, hot peppers, and garlic cloves are then chopped and minced.

The bell peppers are stemmed and cut into strips. The carrots are peeled and grated on a coarse grater. The cucumbers are cut into long pieces (up to 4 cm).

Fry the carrots and sweet pepper strips. Before frying, add oil to the pan and let it heat thoroughly. Add the vegetables and stir occasionally for 15 minutes.

Place all the prepared vegetables in a large, thick-walled saucepan. Then add granulated sugar and salt, along with the remaining vegetable oil, and heat to 100°C. Add vinegar and simmer for half an hour.

Immediately after heat treatment, the product is laid out and hermetically sealed.

How and where to properly store blanks

Lecho is stored, rolled up with iron lids that are pulled tightly inside, for 12 months. The conditions should be as follows: low, stable temperature, darkness.

Every housewife can make a wonderful lecho, and the recipes offered will help her do so.