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Kumpir (Turkish Baked Potatoes)

Turkish kumpir topped with red cabbage, corn, olives, Russian salad and bulgur salad.
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Turkish style stuffed baked potatoes called kumpir. We top these with Turkish foods like bulgur salad, dill pickles, Russian salad, red cabbage, sweet corn and olives.

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

  • 4 large potatoes

  • 4 tablespoon butter

  • 1 cup mozzarella, grated

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Toppings:

  • 1/2 cup Russian salad (please look at the notes below)

  • 1/2 cup bulgur salad kısır

  • 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage, chopped and massaged with salt and lemon

  • 5 dill pickles, chopped

  • 4 tablespoon corn

  • 1 tablespoon black olives, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon green olives, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven at 200C/400F.
  2. Individually wrap each potato with aluminum foil.
  3. Bake them for 50 minutes to 1 hour depending on how large they are. Test if they are done by inserting a knife into a potato.
  4. Remove the foil and put the potatoes back in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes or until their skin is nice crispy. This will help you when stuffing the potatoes with the filling ingredients.
  5. Remove from the oven. Let them cool a bit. Split each potato in the center with a knife. Be careful when doing this as the inner side of potatoes will be hot.
  6. Use a fork and fluff up the inner flesh. Try not to damage the skin.
  7. Add in 1 tablespoon of butter and salt to taste into each potato and mix them up with the soft potato inside. 
  8. Gradually add in the cheese as much as you want and keep mixing until it gets creamy.
  9. Add the toppings as you like and serve.

Notes

  • When choosing potatoes for kumpir, make sure they are nice and big as well as even in size. This way you will ensure that they bake evenly.

  • When fluffing the potato to make the cheesy filling, the potatoes need to be as hot as you can touch. This way the butter and cheese will melt quickly and create a perfectly smooth and creamy inside.

  • You can also make use of tongs or rubber washing gloves to handle the hot potato much easier.

  • A note on Russian salad: This is a Turkish style of Olivier salad from Russian cuisine and called Rus Salatasi in Turkey. It is a mixture of diced and boiled potatoes and carrots, sliced dill pickles and boiled peas, yogurt and mayonnaise. Unlike the original Russian olivier salad, It doesn’t contain any meat or eggs.

  • To make this kumpir recipe completely vegan, all you have to do is replace the butter and cheese with vegan alternatives.

  • If you aren’t a big fan of potatoes, you can try using sweet potatoes or orange potatoes instead. They are a healthier substitute and can be used in exactly the same way.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.giverecipe.com/kumpir-turkish-stuffed-baked-potatoes/