Taco Kumpir

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Mix and match! Two favorite dishes in one, Taco Kumpir has the creaminess of potatoes and the heat and deliciousness of tacos!

One of the things that came so new to me when I moved to the U.S was football, because you know, what we call football in other countries is way different from what it is here. I see how it is important to people. Everyone has a favorite team and Sundays are football days full of snacks and exciting meals!

My in-laws are big football fans, college and professional and they always watch every game! Football matches are way longer than soccer so you can't just go hungry for almost three hours. Therefore we always have something exciting to eat while watching football. This includes snacks and/or meals. Our snacks usually include taco chips, salsa and guacamole because they are just so easy and fast to put together.

My father-in-law has this favorite Pace® picante and salsa that he always buys in bulks and stores them in the pantry so they are always at hand. They come in different textures and heat levels and that's great for us because everyone has different tastes. Kyle loves hot ones and medium and mild are my favorites. If we like to have just a fast casual snack, we just go with taco chips and salsa or picante, but that's not all I do with salsa and picante. Once I put some on a mixed rice dish and it gave a great heat to it and I have also used it in wraps and bowls I even fried an egg with some salsa and it was excellent! This is what I like about Pace® picante and salsa, that they give great kick of flavor to any dish I add them to. It's great as an ingredient or as a dip!

But you know, sometimes we to have want something new and unconventional, something that is more thrilling. That's when I came up with this Taco Kumpir for a Sunday that we were watching football.

Now, what is Taco Kumpir?

You know taco already, good old delicious taco that never disappoints. And Kumpir? Well, Kumpir is a Turkish super tasty dish that consists of one big baked potato, its flesh mixed with butter and cheese, placed back into its skin, and topped with many different toppings including pickles, sausage, corn, olives, bulgur salad, potato salad, some hot thick sauce, etc. It's huge, it really is. And it's very tasty.

Because we miss Istanbul so much and we love tacos, we did a mix and match and brought two dishes together in one, making Taco Kumpir. Mixing the potato with some butter to make it creamy and then fill it with taco ingredients! All the great taste in a bite!

You can bake the potatoes two different ways: Oven and Microwave. To bake them in the oven,  I rub them well with some olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, prick them several times with a fork, wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them for almost 60-70 minutes. To make them in the microwave, I cook a potato for 5  minutes on full power, turn it over and cook for another 5 minutes. Both approaches work fine, though my favorite is the oven.

Can't say no to it, right? I know. The fun part is that you can put all the ingredients in bowls and serve them on a coffee table so everyone can whatever they want. This is very convenient for game days or even for gathering like New Year's parties where you want to serve something fun and mouth-watering. It's like a new way of doing the good old taco bar but as a potato bar!

"taco kumpir is like having a potato bar!"

Making Taco Kumpir is is really simple. All you need is some baked potatoes, butter, some cooked and seasoned ground meat, homemade guacamole, cheese and some medium salsa to balance the taste perfectly and give it some genuine southwest flavor! You can find all these items including Pace® medium salsa (in the Condiments - International aisle) at Walmart.

It's always great to have Taco Kumpir hot. You can bake the potatoes ahead and just reheat them as you prepare the toppings. Then enjoy watching football!

Be sure to check out more recipes here! What is your favorite thing to make with salsa?

Step-by-Step Recipe

Taco Kumpir

Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Taco Kumpir is a a combination of two delicious foods! Creaminess of potatoes and deliciousness of tacos with tasty chunky Salasa!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican, Turkish

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Baked Potatoes*:

• ▢ 4 big potatoes
• ▢ 4 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoon pepper

Taco Filling:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• ▢ 1 lb ground beef
• ▢ 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper sliced
• ▢ 4 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 2 cups homemade guacamole Recipe on the blog
• ▢ 1.5 cup Pace® Medium Salsa
• ▢ ½ cup sour cream
• ▢ ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

 

Potatoes:

• Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Rub olive oil on the potatoes, sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
• Prick the potatoes using a fork and wrap them individually in aluminum foil.
• Place them on the baking sheet and bake for 60-70 minutes.

Topping:

• Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Cook the ground beef until brown. Add salt, pepper and taco seasoning.
• Cook for 4 more minutes and set aside.
• Saute the bell pepper in very little oil until semi-soft.
• Cut a small piece off the top of the potatoes, empty the flesh into a bowl and mix with salt, pepper and butter. Divide the mixture back into into the potatoes.
• Top with cooked ground beef, cover the beef with Pace® medium salsa and finish with guacamole, salsa, bell pepper and shredded cheddar cheese.

Notes

*You can also cook the potatoes in a microwave which reduces the cooking time by following these steps: cook a potato for 5 minutes on full power, turn it over and cook for another 5 minutes.

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