Superfood Kumpir: Turkish Baked Potato with Avocado, Salmon and Turmeric Yogurt Sauce

Don’t be fooled. This is not your ordinary baked potato. Just speaking of ‘Kumpir’ (pronounced koompeer) is like diving deep into the sunday-cravings of just about every Turk living close to the Bosphorus. Heading out to grab a Kumpir on any given weekend is the equivalent of Berliners going out to a club on Sundays. It’s just something you do. No questions asked. What’s more, a week without just doesn’t feel right. Especially now with all the political turmoil going on, grabbing a Kumpir feels like taking one last bite of normality.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Kumpir yet, it is a massive baked potato drowned in sauces, overflowing with all kinds of processed salads, sausages and cheese. Yes another one of those bummers for us FODMAPers. The good news, it couldn’t be easier to turn this dish into some full-blown, low FODMAP deliciousness. You can top it off with everything that makes you purr with delight. Following a first ‘healthy’ kumpir recipe in my cookbook, I thought I’d share another winning combo with you today!

Enter, crispy salmon and melt-in-your-mouth avocado drizzled with turmeric yogurt sauce.

And because the base is just as important I’ll also share some advice on how to end up with perfect baked potatos; crispy on the outside, fluffy and tender on the inside! Happy cooking!

P.S. Fun fact: Apparently the ‘Turkish’ name is rooted in the German term “Krummbeere”, which is what people in South-West Germany lovingly call their taters. So here goes, welcome to another round of my beloved cross-over cuisine! 😉

Low-Fructose Baked-Potato: Kumpir with Salmon, Avocado and Turmeric Yogurt Sauce

For the Kumpir:
2 big potatos for baking
olive oil
coarse sea salt
2 tsp butter
2 tbsp Kaşar, grated (turkish yellow cheese or Gouda)

For the dressing:
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp rice malt syrup
natural yogurt

Sesame Sumac Salt:
1 tsp black sesame
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch sumac

1 piece smoked salmon (approx. 125 g)
1 ripe avocado

Preheat the oven to 450° F / 220° C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Thoroughly wash the potatos and pat dry using a paper towel. With a fork, prick the potato on all sides. Place on the baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove potatos from the oven (they won’t be done yet, no worries!) brush the skin with olive oil until fully coated. Season generously with coarse sea salt and return to the oven. Bake potatoes for another 20 minutes until golden brown, rotating the potatos after 10 minutes to bake them evenly, until fork-tender. Give the potato a squeeze to check for doneness (use an oven cloth for this!). Baking time might vary depending on your oven and the size of your potato(s).

In the meantime, prepare the dressing. Mix ground turmeric with boiling water. Add rice malt syrup and yogurt to reach your desired taste and consistency.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool for a minute. With a sharp knife cut the potato lengthwise. Open up the potato by slightly squeezing it together from opposing ends. This is an easy trick to open the potato without risking that it falls apart. With a small fork, carefully mash the inside of the potato. Gently mix in 1 tsp butter and 1 tbsp grated cheese for each potato.

Cut avocado into slices. Pestle black sesame, salt and sumac. In a non-stick pan, gently heat smoked salmon filet. Warm from each side. Remove skin if necessary. Serve potato with pulled salmon and slices of avocado. Generously drizzle with sumac salt and dressing.

*Pro tip: Don’t waste that precious salmon skin. It’s edible and a delicacy on its own. In a pan, fry leftover pieces of salmon skin and use as topping with your salads and sandwiches.