A large baked potato, split while piping hot, then whipped with butter and cheese until creamy, and loaded Istanbul-style with Russian salad, corn, pickles, olives, sucuk, and sauces. It is generous, melting, tangy, and highly comforting.
Ingredients
- 4 pieces large starchy potatoes
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 220 g grated kaşar or grated Swiss cheese
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 300 g Russian salad
- 160 g drained sweet corn kernels
- 120 g sweet-and-sour pickles
- 80 g pitted black olives
- 160 g Turkish sucuk
- 80 g mayonnaise
- 80 g ketchup
- 0.25 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Heat the oven to high heat, scrub the potatoes, pierce them with a fork, then place them directly on a baking sheet; bake until the skin is wrinkled and the tip of a knife glides through the flesh without resistance.
- While baking, dice the pickles, slice the olives, carefully drain the corn, and chop the parsley; keep each topping separate to capture the spirit of Istanbul's street stands.
- Slice the sucuk into thin rounds, then sauté in a skillet without added fat over medium heat until slightly crispy on the edges and fragrant; keep warm.
- Take out the potatoes as soon as they are very tender, then slit them lengthwise without completely separating the two halves; work one potato at a time so the flesh stays piping hot.
- Gently scrape the flesh with a fork keeping the skin intact, add butter, grated cheese, salt, and pepper, then mix directly inside the potato until you get a soft, glossy, and stringy puree.
- Place each loaded potato on a shallow plate or wide bowl, then cover the hot base with the Russian salad so it stays creamy without completely melting.
- Add the corn, pickles, olives, and sucuk in well-defined strips or small mounds, just like in the kumpir display cases in Ortaköy.
- Finish with drizzles of mayonnaise and ketchup, sprinkle with parsley, then serve immediately while the center is still hot and cheesy.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 811.6 kcal
- Protein
- 30.06 g
- Carbohydrate
- 31.81 g
- Fat
- 62.87 g
- Fibre
- 5.21 g
- Calcium
- 31.66 mg
- Iron
- 2.05 mg
- Magnesium
- 20.18 mg
