Pepper appetizers on the table in winter always look appetizing. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to refuse such a treat. Many hostesses are closing for the winter lecho - Bulgarian dish of peppers and tomatoes. However, the preparation of this dish takes a lot of time: it is necessary to peel the tomatoes, turn their pulp into puree, and then reduce it to the desired consistency. The process greatly simplifies the replacement of fresh tomatoes with ready-made pasta from them. Pepper in tomato paste is made quickly and simply, but it turns out tasty and attractive in appearance.
Cooking Features
Canned in tomato paste can pepper of any kind and color. It is only important that the fruits are not spoiled. Knowing some of the subtleties, even an inexperienced cook will cope with preparing winter snacks.
- Pepper in tomato paste can be closed and whole, but usually it is still crushed. Pepper, covered in pieces of tomato paste, is a ready-made snack, which, in order to serve, is enough to shift from the jar to the vase. The size of the pieces can be made arbitrary.
- From the fleshy pepper snacks are obtained more, it looks more appetizing and surpasses the taste of those made of thin-walled peppers.
- The quality of the tomato paste used to make canned food is of great importance. It should be natural, not containing starch and other thickeners. Artificial colors and other additives are also redundant. The composition of the product should not be anything other than tomato puree, salt, sugar. If tomato paste is cooked with salt and sugar, then the amount of these ingredients in the snack composition should be reduced.
- Banks for pepper in tomato paste should be washed with soda and sterilized. The lids are also subjected to sterilization - for this purpose they are boiled. Canned food can be closed only with metal lids to ensure tightness. They can be screwed or rolled with a special key.
- Cool the blanks upside down under a blanket. In such conditions, they are subject to additional conservation, which makes them more resistant to adverse storage conditions.
Storage conditions for pepper in tomato paste depend on the recipe used. Usually such preserves are well worth it at room temperature.
Classic pepper recipe in tomato sauce
Composition (for 2, 5 l):
- Bulgarian pepper - 2, 5 kg;
- tomato paste - 0, 5 l;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- refined vegetable oil - 0, 2 l;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 80 ml;
- sugar - 150 g;
- salt - 20 g.
Method of preparation:
- Wash peppers. Cut the stalks from them, removing them along with the seeds. Each fruit cut lengthwise into 4 parts, then divide each plate with a knife in half.
- Put tomato paste in a large saucepan, pour water into it. Stir to make a uniform sauce.
- Add butter, sugar and salt to tomato sauce. Over low heat bring it to a boil.
- Pour vinegar into tomato sauce, mix.
- Dip the pieces of pepper into it. Wait until the mixture boils again. Simmer the pepper, stirring for 15-20 minutes.
- Wash with soda and sterilize the jars, boil suitable lids.
- Fill the jars with pepper, pour it with tomato paste sauce.
- Hermetically seal the cans, turn them over and wrap them up.
After a day, banks with snacks can be moved to the pantry or any other place where you usually keep such supplies. These canned foods do not require special storage conditions.
Pepper in tomato paste without oil
Composition (for 2, 5 l):
- sweet pepper - 3 kg;
- tomato paste - 0, 25 l;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 100 ml;
- salt - 20 g;
- sugar - 120 g.
Method of preparation:
- Pepper wash, peel from seeds, cut into halves or quarters of rings about 0.5 cm wide or slightly wider.
- Dissolve tomato paste with water, add salt and sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and dip the pepper into it.
- Add vinegar.
- Cook the pepper in a tomato paste sauce for 15-20 minutes. Periodically, the contents of the pan must be mixed so that the pepper is not burnt.
- Spread snacks on pre-sterilized cans, roll them up.
- Place the cans upside down, cover with a blanket.
After cooling, cans with snacks can be stored at room temperature, it is not inclusive.
Pepper in tomato paste with onions and carrots
Composition (for 2, 5 l):
- Bulgarian pepper - 1, 5 kg;
- carrots - 0, 5 kg;
- onions - 0, 5 kg;
- tomato paste - 0, 5 l;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- sugar - 140 g;
- refined vegetable oil - 150 ml;
- salt - 25 g;
- Acetic essence (70 percent) - 20 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Peppers wash, dry with a napkin. Remove the stalk with seeds. Cut the vegetables into petals, dividing each fruit into 4-6 pieces.
- Scrape carrots, wash, dry with a kitchen towel. Grind grated with large holes.
- Remove onions from the onion, cut it into small cubes.
- At the bottom of a thick-bottomed pot, pour in the oil and heat it.
- Put onions and carrots in butter. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
- In a separate container, mix water and tomato paste. Add salt and sugar to this mixture, whisk with a whisk until smooth.
- Pour the sauce to the onions and carrots, wait until the contents of the pan boil.
- Add vinegar essence, mix well.
- Dip the prepared pepper in the tomato sauce. Simmer it for 10-15 minutes after the contents of the pan begins to boil again.
- Prepare the jars by washing them with soda and sterilizing them in any convenient way. Boil the lids that fit the prepared jars.
- Spread the peppers in cans, cover the pieces of vegetables with tomato paste sauce, in which they were stewed.
- Hermetically close the jars, flip. For reliability, wrap cans with pepper blanket.
- The next day, banks with pepper can be moved to a place of permanent storage.
The pepper snack in tomato paste, prepared according to the recipe, is especially tasty and appetizing due to the inclusion of carrots and onions. For piquancy, you can add ground hot pepper. It is put in 5-10 minutes before the snack is ready. The amount of pepper is not regulated, you can navigate to your taste.
Pepper in tomato paste is prepared quickly, the hostess will not have to make much effort. The result is almost the same as when making lecho from pepper and fresh tomatoes. Snack will be even more tasty and appetizing, if the pepper in it is supplemented with other vegetables, most often for this they use onions and carrots.
