It's Tomato and Pepper Season!

This photo of tomatoes and peppers captures everything I love about produce at this time of year. The deep reds of peak‑season tomatoes, the pale green glow of fresh Hungarian white peppers, and that sense of abundance that only late summer brings. It’s also the only moment in the year when White Peppers are available, and for me, their arrival is tied to childhood memories. This short season meant my mother would make three specific dishes, always the same ones, always during these few precious weeks. The sight of these peppers still brings me back to those summers: the kitchen warm, the air fragrant with simmering tomatoes and peppers, and the quiet excitement of knowing we were eating something we’d waited all year for.

Stuffed White Peppers

One of summer’s greatest treasures, especially when Hungarian white peppers finally arrive in their short late‑July to early‑August season.

White Pepper and Pepperoni Lecho.

I usually add pepperoni or Polish sausage for richness, but lecho is wonderfully adaptable. It can be made with chicken thighs, pork chops, or left entirely meatless for a lighter version. No matter how you prepare it, lecho is one of those dishes that tastes like the season itself, comforting, vibrant, and perfect for using up a basket of peak‑season peppers and tomatoes.and of course the summer favorite,

Tomato, White Pepper and Sweet Onion Salad.

Beefsteak Tomato, White Pepper and Sweet Onion is my go to salad during the summer and early fall. So simple. Drizzle with a little seasoned rice vinegar and olive oil and your salad is complete.

Making these dishes any other time of the year was just, and probably is, not done. You have to wait until August!

I remember my Grandmother making Lecho and preserving this delectable vegetable dish in beautiful clear mason jars. They would be added to the rows of jars of cherries and apricots and peaches, which she had already prepared.

She used to do this, not so much from necessity, but more because she could and she loved the results.

Walking into her pantry was like looking at the wall of preserves and canned fruits and vegetables at Jamie Kennedy’s Wine Bar, for those who would remember!

You might be tempted to think that stuffed peppers are a winter dish, but au contraire, stuffed peppers should only ever be made in the summer and only with white Hungarian peppers!

White Pepper and Pepperoni Lecho uses the same delicious white peppers, but also ripe and juicy beefsteak tomatoes. You can add a little heat by adding a banana pepper and ‘allowing it’ to burst towards the end of the cooking time. A little heat is traditional and summery.

Then of course there are salads. Tomato, White Pepper and Sweet Onion Salad is another Hungarian summer classic, but there are others which include