Lecsó is basically a meatless summer dish usually combined with beaten eggs, rarely with rice. But if you find it too light, you can serve lecsó with a pork roast and toasted egg barley noodles and it will fill your stomach for sure.

For the roast choose a fattier pork cut, lean meat can dry out easily. The thickness of the pork slices should be 1,5-2 cm / 1/2-3/4″. Since the meat doesn’t spend hours in the oven, it’s important to pound it, which helps the meat cook faster and more evenly.

In this case the side dish is toasted egg barley noodles (tarhonya). Please, note that the cooking time of this pasta is about an hour, so it’s recommended starting to cook it at same time as you make the lecsó.

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of boneless pork (1,5-2 cm / 1/2-3/4″ thick)
• 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) smoked bacon
• 1 big onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 medium wax peppers
• 8 medium tomatoes
• 2-3 tbsp flour
• salt, pepper and ground nutmeg to taste
• 2-3 tbsp lard

For the side dish:

• 300 g (~2/3 lb) egg barley noodles
• 1 medium onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsp lard

Flatten the pork slices a little with a tenderizer. Sprinkle salt, pepper and ground nutmeg over them, then dust the slices in flour. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of lard in a frying pan and sear the slices until both sides turn golden brown. Put the slices on a plate and set aside.

Peel and chop onion and garlic cloves, dice wax peppers and tomatoes. Cut the bacon in chunks. Heat a skillet, add chopped bacon and cook, stirring often, until it’s crisp. Add finely chopped onions, a bit later chopped garlic and sauté until translucent. Add wax peppers cubes, stir regularly. When peppers are half-cooked, add tomatoes and cook for further 5-8 minutes.

Pour the lecsó in a deep roasting pan, place the pork slices on top of the pepper-tomato mixture and roast for 40-50 minutes at 180°C / 356°F.

Meanwhile make the side dish. Chop the onion. Heat lard in a pot, add onions and cook until translucent. Add the noodles and toast until golden brown. Pour in water to cover the noodles, salt and pepper and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook while stirring often. Keep adding more water until the egg barley noodles become tender – it will take approximately 60 minutes.

Once the noodles and meat are done, pile some noodles on a plate, lay a slice of pork on it and spoon some lecsó on the top.