Etli Kapuska Recipe – Turkish Cabbage Stew With Meat

If you are anything like us and thought you didn’t like cabbage (or you are not over keen on it), this Kapuska recipe (Turkish cabbage stew recipe) could be the one that changes all that.

We love it. So let’s get started. Let’s let cabbage reign!

It’s usually springtime that comes to mind when we think of seasonal ingredients and abundance.

But autumn on the markets of Fethiye is also another period where the stalls are just piled high with all the seasonal produce that tells us summer is over and winter is almost upon us.

That’s no bad thing!

It’s that warm and cosy feeling that makes you think ‘comfort food’ as you buy up all the fruits and vegetables you haven’t seen since the year before.

The broccoli looks so tempting as the ‘trees’ are packed tightly and neatly, row on row, plump and green.

Time for broccoli and potato soup or even a more traditional Turkish broccoli meze. Citrus fruits are just starting to come into their own, too.

Just as the colder weather starts to come, we can give our bodies a Vitamin C boost and Turkish soups and meze dishes can benefit from a squeeze of delicately flavoured fresh, ripe lemon.

It’s a great time of year to be in Fethiye!

(Etli) Kapuska – A Turkish Cabbage Stew Recipe (With Meat)

And then there are these not-so-little wonders of the vegetable world…

You can buy cabbage at Fethiye markets most times of the year. But, during winter, they bulge and grow, Jack-And-The-Beanstalk style.

And some of them just make the mind boggle.

Believe us, there are much bigger ones around than the cabbages in the photo above. And these are more than big enough for any family.

So, what to make with all this cabbage?

That’s what a reader asked us recently on Instagram. He too was amazed by the size of the cabbages. He took a photo of them and asked us if there are any recipes which could make use of them.

Ohhh, yes there are – and that request very conveniently reminded us that we were yet to post one of our favourite recipes…

Etli Kapuska; a Turkish cabbage stew recipe with meat.

Kapuska Variations

You’ll see kapuska made in different ways.

• It can be made without meat if you are vegetarian or vegan (or if you’re just not in the mood for meat, of course).
• You can make it more filling with the addition of bulgur wheat or rice.
• You can use different meats: add your leftover lamb or beef, chicken, minced meat (grouınd beef or lamb) or cubed meat.
• You can make it as a soupy stew or as a thicker, healthy side dish.

But, whichever way you choose to make it, there’s no denying that this one pot Turkish cabbage stew is pure comfort food for winter.

It’s a dish that lets the cabbage shine.

Hence the reason for using so much. And it’s the dish that made us fully appreciate the joy of cabbage!

Who’d have thought we could actually be excited about a big pile of chopped white cabbage?

Kapuska’s Wide Reach

If you’re thinking ‘Kapuska’ doesn’t really sound like the name of a Turkish food – and if you’re thinking this dish doesn’t look like a typical Turkish dish – this is because we’re up in the cold north of the country for cabbage stew.

A place where hearty stews are very necessary in winter; the Black Sea regions of Turkey.

Apparently, the word ‘kapuska’ originates from the Russian word for cabbage (Russian readers might be able to help us out there).

And this type of stew is eaten in Eastern Europe in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Poland (the Polish word for cabbage is ‘kapusta‘ and it is also the name of their similar cabbage dish).

So you get the picture.

It’s that type of dish. A dish to keep us all cosy and warm in the colder months.

And it comes with the clear advantage that it tastes fabulous.

It’s even loved by British chef, Rick Stein, who felt compelled to make this Turkish version of a cabbage stew in his food travel series, From Venice To Istanbul.

How To Make Kapuska With Meat

With all of these variations around how different people prefer their kapuska, how do we make ours at home?

Well, as you can see from the photos in this article, we love to make a soupy kapuska using tomato paste and hot red pepper flakes (pul biber) to add a bit of spice.

Don’t be shy with those chilli flakes. Go as hot as you can handle.

Plenty of salt, black pepper and hot water makes a stock when mixed with the meat juices and tomato paste. And if you want an even more soupy kapuska, don’t be afraid to add more water.

And, rather than ground meat or minced meat, we like to use small chunks of beef because we prefer the texture and it feels more, then, like a cabbage stew.

No bulgur pilaf or Turkish rice accompaniments for us.

We just love to put the stew in a big bowl and serve piping hot with some wedges of crusty bread to mop up all of those tasty, comforting juices.

Our Kapuska Recipe

And that’s it! One of the best ways to enjoy cold winter days – a big steaming bowl of kapuska served with fresh crusty bread.

Afiyet Olsun!

Notes On Turkish Cabbage Stew

• As well as tomato puree, red pepper paste (biber salçası) is also a common ingredient in Turkish recipes. If you can get this, we sometimes use a mix of the two.
• If you’ve got lots of fresh cabbage leftovers after making your kapuska, you could always make coleslaw from it.
• Kapuska (Turkish Cabbage Stew) is in the Meat & Seafood section of our full collection of Turkish recipes.

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