Sausage and Zucchini Stew (Zucchini Leczo)

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion (roughly 5 oz, 170 g), sweet or yellow
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 bell peppers (colours can very)
• 3 zucchinis / courgettes (roughly just over 2 1/4 lb; 1kg)
• 1 lb (450 g) kiełbasa sausage (in Poland, try ‘wiejska’ or ‘śląska’)
• 1 tbsp lard, can sub with canola or olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper, ground
• 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp spicy paprika powder, or chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried marjoram
• 1 bottle (24.5 oz, 700 g) tomato purée passata
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, to garnish

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel the onion and garlic cloves, dice them...: Peel the onion and garlic cloves, dice them finely and set aside.

2. 2

   Wash the vegetables thoroughly. You can peel the...: Wash the vegetables thoroughly. You can peel the zucchinis, but that’s optional.

3. 3

   Chop off all the stems and ends from...: Chop off all the stems and ends from all the zucchini, then cut each one in half lengthwise through the center. Dice into pieces.

4. 4

   Dice bell peppers, or slice them into strips....: Dice bell peppers, or slice them into strips. I usually do a “half & half” (half of them diced, other half sliced in strips).

5. 5

   Slice kie?basa sausage into rounds.

6. 6

   Drop a tablespoon of lard into a deep...: Drop a tablespoon of lard into a deep skillet/frying pan (or a wide cooking pot), and melt it on a medium heat.

7. 7

   Add chopped onion, kie?basa and garlic, fry together...: Add chopped onion, kie?basa and garlic, fry together for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.

8. 8

   Add in bell peppers and zucchinis, season with...: Add in bell peppers and zucchinis, season with salt and black pepper and stir everything together.

9. 9

   After 3 minutes of cooking, add in the...: After 3 minutes of cooking, add in the spices and herbs: smoked paprika, spicy paprika and marjoram.

10. 10

    Pour tomato passata in, and partially cover the...: Pour tomato passata in, and partially cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes, monitoring and stirring from time to time. If you feel the texture gets too dense, pour in some water or stock.

11. 11

    Serve hot, garnishing with parsley leaves before serving.