FOOD: Wintertime Cabbage, Sucuk, + Potato Fry
Note from Catie: I recently tried out this recipe and loved it! Hardy but also light! We only had sweet potatoes on hand (which we pay crazy extra for in Turkey) and the recipe was just at delicious! You can always add your own extra toppings or maybe even some sesame seeds like we did! Awesome job Nia on another great recipe!
It’s March; daffodils pop up persistently through the cold earth to remind us, despite the chilly winds, that spring will return, that it’s just around the corner. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, maybe, like me, you’re tired of the cold weather, tired of the process of bundling up every time you go out the door, and maybe even tired of the same soups and stews you’ve been making through the winter. When I still want something hearty and warm on a blustery March evening, this fry is an easy and filling meal I can whip up on a weeknight and is surprisingly good reheated. It’s adapted from an Irish dish, so it’s a great option for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner on the 17th!
The biggest difference in this recipe from the Irish version is the replacement of “bangers” with sucuk (“soo-jook”), a fermented Turkish sausage made from beef that is full of flavor. You will find sucuk at any butcher’s shop in Turkey with it’s delicious mix of cayenne pepper, garlic, sumac, cumin, and, of course, plenty of salt, along with a host of other spices. It is commonly cooked with fried eggs for kahvalti (Turkish breakfast) or as a topping on pide (Turkish pizza). You can also easily find it at a grill-out on a hot Izmir summer afternoon. Sucuk is high in fat and sodium, so my recipe doesn’t add salt or much other fat to the dish. However, if you’re opting for a healthier sausage, like a chicken or reduced sodium sausage, you may want some more salt and/or fat to your fry.
To get your potatoes and cabbage (which is in season right now in Turkey!) to soak that delicious sucuk flavor in, you want to make sure you fry your sucuk first (and remove them from the pan so they don’t burn) add in a little olive oil, and fry your potato cubes in the remaining fat. The hot fat will not only fry your potatoes beautifully, but also add some rich flavor to them. If you are using a non-sucuk sausage, be sure to add garlic to your fry, as well as red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
I also add a little vinegar to introduce some acid and brighten the dish. Alternatively, you could add some citrus juice to cut the heaviness of this fry. If you’re using a chicken or pork sausage, you could also experiment by substituting apple cider vinegar for red wine vinegar. Don’t forget to let me know how your fry turned out in the comments below!
Sucuk Potato Cabbage Fry
- 2 links sucuk, sliced (Or chicken or pork sausage)
- 1 lb potatoes peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cabbage head, chopped
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt, Pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to taste
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, fry the sliced sucuk until lightly browned and released fat. Remove sucuk to a plate.
- Add enough olive oil to bring total fat to ¼ inch. Mix and allow to heat up. Add potatoes, stirring occasionally to brown all sides of the potatoes.
- Once potatoes are mostly soft, add in the cabbage and return the sucuk to the pan. Stir and allow the cabbage to begin to soften. (If adding garlic, add now)
- Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan, scratching up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Add paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Afiyet Olsun!
Now tell me:
- What about you?
- What’s your favorite type of sausage?
- Can you find sucuk where you live?
- Have you tried this fry? How did it turn out for you?
- What would you change?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I am a lover of words and stories, student of culture, amateur photographer, adult cross-cultural kid, English tutor to TCKs (Third Culture Kids), and aspiring foodie. We will probably be instant friends if you give me good coffee, invite me to cook with you, or start a conversation with me about personalities, culture, and how the two intersect. I’m a life-long nerd, believer, and creative-in-the-works. I am all about the journey, so traveling and cross-cultural living is always something that has captured my heart and inspired my imagination.
In 2016, after teaching in an inner-city school and needing a change of pace, I spent a year abroad in Izmir, Turkey with a friend. I absolutely fell in love with the city and the people. The conveniences of a big city with a friendly, slow-pace-of-life atmosphere is all found between the mountains and the sea. What’s not to love? So, after my year of adventure, I knew I wanted to come back to Izmir to live.
Positioned on the perch of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Turkey is both a mix of cultures, and a unique culture all its own. The more I learn, the more I want to learn, and this desire to learn is what drives me to write. As a pretty quiet person, I write to learn, to discover, and to process. As someone who grew up in a cross-cultural context, Turkey’s diversity and mix of cultures is something I personally relate to. Plus, if you’ve ever tasted Turkish food, you know that it is definitely something to write home about. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Funks’ blog and to grow and learn in the process.
