Kumpir - Turkish Style Stuffed Baked Potatoes!

 

Turkish Style Stuffed Baked Potatoes - Kumpir

Turkish Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir) Recipe!

Do you know Kumpir? Have you tried Kumpir?

If you love baked potatoes, you will definitely love this unique Turkish Kumpir recipe! Although it is originally a street food, you can easily make this special recipe at home by following a few very easy steps. Then you will end up with deliciously creamy, cheesy, and flavor-packed loaded baked potatoes. And top them with whatever you like!

As you know, we have shared many Turkish street foods (such as Meatless Raw Meatball -Turkish Cig kofte, Turkish Kibbeh - Icli Kofte, Turkish Plain Pancake - Gozleme, Roasted Chestnuts etc.) in this blogsite before. Also we will share several other famous Turkish street foods (such as sesame bagel - Turkish simit, lahmajun, Turkish rice - Pilaf with Chickpeas etc.) at future. Kumpir is yet another street food that is made with baked potatoes and a variety of toppings.

What is even better about our delicious kumpir recipe is that it is definitely vegetarian! After making the base, you can customize it to your tasting. We mostly use butter and cheese but you can easily make it vegan by substituting the butter and cheese with vegan alternatives, or you also can make it meaty by adding some cured meats, sautéed chicken and sausages, or even flakes fish.

In this post, we are going to share our Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir)'s Recipe with you and we will have a look at these versatile stuffed baked potatoes and exactly how to make them. We will also give you some handy tips to ensure your potatoes are soft, fluffy, and creamy. If you want to use some different toppings and need some inspiration, we have included some of our favorites too!

Turkish Baked Potato

What is Kumpir?

Kumpir, we know that, it is maybe new to you. This Turkish food, Kumpir (in Turkish pronounced = "khum - phir") is basically a baked potato with cheese and butter, Turkish version of the England's jacket potatoes. It is an extremely popular Turkish street food that is served with an endless amount of vegetarian and meat toppings, and often a sauce of some sort. The flesh of the baked potato is used to create a deliciously soft, cheesy, and creamy filling, upon which a bunch of toppings is added. Often the restaurants have a buffet-style setup that allows you to choose toppings on the spot.

According to historians; Kumpir was first introduced to Turkey and Turkish people by from the former country of Yugoslavia and have since adapted the dish according to their own rich culture. Although the dish still maintains the same name as Yugoslavia's Khumpir, the Turks have made the dish their with the many assorted fillings. 

How to Make Turkish Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir)! 

We like kumpir alot. We often make it in our kitchens and we also go to eat kumpir in restaurants alot. We are sure that when you try this delicious recipe, you like it. Its preparation is really easy and its recipe is not complicated. The base for a Turkish baked potato recipe always remains the same; large potatoes, butter, cheese and a bit of seasoning. The toppings however are where these stuffed baked potatoes really get their versatile flavors from. Common toppings you will find in many kumpir restaurants in Turkey include a wide variety of pickles, salads (such as spicy tomato salad, Turkish tabbouleh Salad-Kısır), fried vegetables, hummus, and a variety of sauces like tzatziki (Yogurt and Cucumbers Dip - cacik), ketchup, and mayonnaise. Meatier versions include Middle Eastern spicy sausages called sujuk (Turkish Sucuk), regular sausages and salami.

Actually, our kumpir recipe is completely vegetarian. But, our house holds are generally prefer to kumpir with butter and cheese fillings. Also we use Turkish tabbouleh Salad-Kısır, Russian salad, quick pickled red cabbage, delicious dill pickles, corn, and a mixture of chopped black and green olives as fillings for the kumpir. The flavors of these ingredients are perfectly balanced and will fill you up in no time.

Turkish Kumpir Recipe 

Tips of the Turkish Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir)!

For kumpir recipe, choosing potatoes are very important. 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 potatoes 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 of the potatoes.

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

If you aren’t a big fan of normal 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.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Kumpir!

Is it better to bake a potato in the oven or in a microwave?

If you need a potato to cook quickly, using a microwave is definitely a better option. However, if you have the time and want an extremely soft and fluffy baked potato, it's best to bake them in the oven. You will also get much crispier skin in an oven than in a microwave. We always use oven for this process.

At what temperature is a baked potato done?

A perfectly baked potato will have an internal temperature of 99-100°C (nearly 210°F). You can test this with a probe thermometer and insert it into the center of the thickest part of the potato. 

Another way to test the doneness is by inserting a knife or cake testing needle into the potato. If it goes in easily and the potato is very soft, it has been fully cooked.

What are the best baked potato toppings?

Part of what makes a loaded baked potatoes so great is the wide variety of toppings you can choose from. There isn’t a right or wrong topping – whatever you love the most will be just fine. However, if you have no idea where to start with toppings, some basic ones include spicy sausages, salami, bacon, chicken, salsa, ketchup, mayonnaise and more cheese!

Do baked potatoes cook faster in aluminum foil and baking paper?

Wrapping potatoes in aluminum foil and baking paper do not speed up the cooking time, but it does affect how the potato cooks. 

For one, the skin doesn’t crisp up when wrapped in foil. We love doing it this way because we can control the amount of crisp after the inside has been baked. The aluminum foil also acts as a packet that helps create and trap steam during the baking process. The steam makes the cooked potato much softer and fluffier compared to unwrapped baked potatoes.

Recipe for Turkish Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir)! 

Vegetarian or nonvegetarian kumpir recipe is extremely easy to make and very versatile. You can easily remove, add, or substitute the ingredients and toppings to change the flavor profile to your liking!

For this post, we made a very simple kumpir and we used butter and cheese. Here it is our Turkish Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Kumpir)'s recipe;

Very good family favourite;

Serve: 4 servings, Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes, Cooking Time: 90 minutes, Cuisine: Mediterranean/Anatolian Cuisine, 

Ingredients: 4 Big and large potatoes, 

Ingredients: baking paper and aluminum foil, 

Ingredients: For Stuffing : 1 Teaspoon of butter
for each of the potatoes, 

Ingredients : For Stuffing : 1 tablespoon of grated
Pale Yellow Cheese / Mozzarella Cheese
for each of the potatoes,  

Ingredients : For topping; 1/2 Teaspoon of Tinned
Sweetcorn for each of the potatoes, 

Ingredients : For Topping : 1/2 Cup of
Cornishons Pickle, chopped, 

Ingredients : For Toppings : 1/2 Cup of canned Green Peas, 

Ingredients : For topping; 1/4 cup of diced green
or black olives, 

Ingredients: For topping; 1/2 teaspoon of good quality
mayonnaise and ketchup, 

Ingredients: For topping; a pinch of salt,
red flakes pepper and black ground pepper
for each of the potatoes, 

Firstly wash your all potatoes very well, 

Then dry them with the paper towels, 

Then wrap each potato with the baking paper, 

And wrap each potato with the aluminum foil too, 

Then place the baking paper into oven tray
and then preheat the oven at 200 ° C ( 400°F)

Then place your potatoes on the baking tray
and bake them for about 90 minutes
or until they are done, 

Meanwhile, prepare your stuffing and
topping ingredients,  chop your Cornishons Pickle 

Open canned Green Peas and put them into the bowl,

And open tinned sweetcorn and
 put them into the bowl,

Chop your black or green olives and
put them into the bowl,

For stuffing; grate your pale yellow cheese into the bowl,

When these ingredients are ready,  turn to your oven
and remove your potatoes from the oven, 

Once fully baked, remove them from the oven
and remove baking paper and aluminum foil, 

Then place the cooked potatoes back into the oven
 for about 5 minutes to crisp up their skins, 

Allow them to cool a bit before splitting them
 open with a knife, 

Then stuff the baked potatoes. Use a fork or teaspoon
to fluff the inner flesh. Add 1 teaspoon of butter
 and salt to the fluffed potato and mix well, 

Then adding cheese into a baked potato and
a fork inside it and keep mixing until it gets creamy, 

Then place your kumpir on a plate and add your
favorite assortment of toppings. We added green peas, 

We added sliced black olives, 

We added chopped gherkins pickle, 

We added sweetcorn kernels, 

We added ketchup, 

We added mayonnaise, 

And we added a pinch of salt, red flakes pepper
 and black ground pepper, 

Serve while still hot. 

Ingredients:

• 4 Big and large potatoes, 
• Baking paper and aluminum foil,

For Stuffing:

• 1 Teaspoon of butter for each of the potatoes,
• 1 Tablespoon of grated Pale Yellow Cheese/Mozzarella Cheese for each of the potatoes,

For Topping:

• 1/2 Teaspoon of Tinned Sweetcorn for each of the potatoes,
• 1/2 Cup of Cornishons Pickle, chopped, (One or two small size gherkins are enough),
• 1/2 Cup of canned Green Peas, 
• 1/4 Cup of diced green or black olives, 
• 1/2 Teaspoon of good quality mayonnaise for each of the potatoes, 
• 1/2 Teaspoon of good quality ketchup for each of the potatoes, 
• A pinch of salt, red flakes pepper and black ground pepper for each of the potatoes,

P.S: There isn’t a right or wrong topping – whatever you love the most will be just fine.

Preparation:

1. First of all, put your all ingredients on the work table. Then wash your all potatoes very well and then dry them with the paper towels. 
2. Then wrap each potato with the baking paper, then warp each potato with the aluminum foil too. Then preheat the oven at 200°C (400°F). Meanwhile place the baking paper into oven tray, then place your potatoes on the baking tray and bake them for about 90 minutes or until they are done. 
3. Once fully baked, remove your potatoes from the oven and baking paper and aluminum foil. Meanwhile, prepare your topping ingredients. Then, place the cooked potatoes back into the oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up their skins. Allow them to cool a bit before splitting them open with a knife. 
4. Then, stuff the baked potatoes. Use a fork or teaspoon to fluff the inner flesh or the potato, but do not damage the crispy skin. Adding butter into a baked potato and a fork inside it. Add 1 teaspoon of butter and a pinch of salt to the fluffed potato and mix well. Then adding cheese into a baked potato and a fork inside it and keep mixing until it gets creamy. 
5. Then place your kumpir on a plate and add your favorite assortment of toppings. We added green peas, sweetcorn kernels, sliced black olives (or green olives), chopped gherkins pickle, a pinch of salt, red flakes pepper and black ground pepper, mayonnaise and ketchup. These are our some of the favorite toppings. But keep in mind you can certainly use more (or less) of anything, these kumpir can definitely be a build-your-own kind of thing. So that, add as many toppings as you would like and serve while still hot.

Enjoy!

Please let us know how this "Kumpir - Turkish Style Stuffed Baked Potatoes Recipe" turns out for you in the comments. We are always so eager to hear from you.

Turkish  Bakedi Potato

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