In Ukrainian cooking, lecho has settled in as a preserve: peppers and tomatoes are sealed in jars and brought out in winter. A vegetable stew works differently — it is a hot dish in its own right, thicker than lecho and more filling thanks to pulses. It simmers in a single pot, so there is little washing-up afterwards.

The recipe was shared by the culinary section of the Polish outlet gazeta.pl; the proportions and spices have been adjusted to our August vegetables.

The main difference from lecho is green lentils. Unlike red ones, they do not collapse into a purée but stay as separate grains, giving the same density that meat usually provides in a stew. There is protein too: a portion of this covers the need as well as a cutlet would.

Vegetable stew with lentils: what you will need

This serves four. Choose a young courgette — its skin is thin and the seeds small, so there is no need to peel it.

  • 200–250 g green lentils
  • 3 large bell peppers, ideally of different colours
  • 1 young courgette
  • 300 g button mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • 3–4 cloves of garlic
  • 600 ml tomato purée (or 700 g puréed tomatoes)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon each of sweet paprika, oregano and marjoram
  • a pinch of hot paprika — optional
  • salt, black pepper, a bunch of parsley

How to cook it

  1. Rinse the lentils and boil them in salted water for about twenty minutes — until soft but still whole. Drain in a colander.
  2. Cut the peppers into strips, the courgette into half-moons a finger thick, and the mushrooms into slices. Dice the onion.
  3. Heat the oil in a large pot or deep pan and sauté the onion until golden — roughly five minutes.
  4. Add the mushrooms and fry until the liquid they release has evaporated. This matters: otherwise the stew turns watery.
  5. Add the peppers and courgette, stir and simmer over medium heat for another ten minutes.
  6. Add the chopped garlic, paprika, oregano and marjoram. Warm through for a minute so the spices open up in the oil.
  7. Pour in the tomato purée and add the tomato paste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over low heat for fifteen minutes.
  8. Stir in the lentils, season with salt and pepper. Keep on the heat for another five minutes so the flavours come together.
  9. Remove from the heat, scatter over the chopped parsley and let it stand covered for ten minutes.

The stew is best served with fluffy rice or a slice of crusty bread. The next day it tastes even better: the lentils fully absorb the sauce and the peppers turn sweeter. It keeps for three days in the fridge, so one pot covers several dinners.