Name: Kumpir: Turkish Stuffed Potato
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 1 Servings
Cuisine: Turkish Food
Ingredients: Large mealy potato (Bintje type): 1; Butter: 25g; Grated cheese (Kasar, Gruyere or Mozzarella): 40g; Tomato dice; Corn; Mushrooms; Sliced Olives; Grated red cabbage; Pickled vegetables (e.g. gherkins)

Cuisine:

Turkish Food

Serves 1
Easy

Ingredients

1
Large mealy potato (Bintje type)
25g
Butter
40g
Grated cheese (Kasar, Gruyere or Mozzarella)
<
Vegetables of your choice
Tomato dice
Corn
Mushrooms
Sliced Olives
Grated red cabbage
Pickled vegetables (e.g. gherkins)
<
Sauce of your choice (Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Cacik...)
<
Flaked meat or sausage of your choice:

Directions

Votes: 2

Table of Contents

What is Kumpir?

Kumpir is a large stuffed potato very popular in Turkey. It is a well established specialty in the Turkish street food scene, everyone is eating it! The potato is steamed or grilled before being scooped out and stuffed with a combination of ingredients such as minced meat, onions, vegetables, herbs, fresh cream and grated cheese.

It is a very easy to customize dish. You can add your favorite ingredients and adapt it to your taste!

The potato is then grilled until it is hot, crispy on the outside and soft and melting on the inside. The toppings can vary depending on your preferences, but the most common toppings in Turkey are sausage, egg, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, artichokes, feta cheese or tzatziki. You can also add some pickled vegetables such as sir torshi. Kumpir is usually eaten as a main dish or as a snack.

Origin of this Turkish Stuffed Potato

The exact origin of kumpir is not fixed, but this stuffed potato is considered to be a specialty of Turkish street food and the city of Istanbul more precisely. Kumpir was then very quickly popularized throughout the country. Kumpir is similar to other European specialties such as cartocci siciliani in Italy or “stuffed baked potato” in England.

Which potato to use for the recipe of Kumpir?

To make the recipe (“tarifi” in Turkish) of Turkish Kumpir, choose a large floury potato such as Bintje. This is very important so that the potato will hold together during cooking and that you can garnish it without too much trouble.

Steps

1 Done 45min	Cooking the stuffed potato Wrap your large potato in aluminum foil and bake it for about 45 minutes (more or less depending on its size) at 200 degrees. To check for doneness, stick a knife into the flesh. If it is tender, the potato is cooked!
2 Done 2min	Open and butter your stuffed potato Open the cooked potato in half lengthwise. Be careful not to split it in two! Melt a little butter inside the potato and mix it with a fork to obtain a small purée. I personally use salted butter for more deliciousness.
3 Done 5min	Garnish your Turkish Kumpir Once you have buttered your potato and turned the flesh into a small puree, move on to filling your Kumpir! Add whatever vegetables you like, you can even add other vegetables than those mentioned in the ingredients of this recipe. Finish with the grated cheese: Mozzarella, Gruyere or Kasar, you can even add feta cheese for a fresher Kumpir recipe. For a carnivorous version, you can also add chicken, beef, pulled pork or sausage slices of any kind!
4 Done	Enjoy your homemade Kumpir! And here is the work! Your homemade Turkish Kumpir is ready! Add on top of your filling the sauce of your choice: Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Cacik... Enjoy this delicious Turkish stuffed potato hot with French fries and a small green salad. Enjoy your meal !