What are sucuk and pastirma?

If you have looked through our Halal Menu, you will have seen two names that are still unfamiliar to many diners in Spain: sucuk and pastirma. Both are classic cured meats from Turkish cuisine, also known in other cuisines of the Balkans and the Middle East, and at Campisi's we use them on two of our pizzas. Here is what they are, how they differ and where to find them on the menu.

What is sucuk?

Sucuk is a cured sausage from Turkish cuisine. It is made from minced meat, usually beef, with fat and spices such as garlic, cumin and red pepper. The mixture is stuffed into a casing and left to cure until it firms up and develops an intense flavour.

It can be mild or spicy, and in Turkish cooking it is usually eaten cooked: sliced and pan-fried or baked. As it heats, it releases some of its fat and its aroma intensifies.

Ours is spicy beef sucuk, carrying its supplier's halal label, like all the meat on our Halal Menu.

What is pastirma?

Pastirma (pastırma in Turkish) is a whole cut of cured meat, usually beef. The meat is salted, pressed to remove moisture and air-dried; it is then coated in a spice paste called çemen, made with fenugreek, garlic and paprika, and dried again. It is served in very thin slices.

Its name is associated with the Turkish verb bastırmak, 'to press', after the pressing of the meat. The city of Kayseri, in central Anatolia, is particularly well known for its pastırma.

If you know Spanish food, the closest reference is cecina: it is also cured beef, cut into thin slices. The big difference is the çemen coating, which gives pastirma its distinctive spiced aroma.

Ours is spiced cured beef pastirma, sliced and carrying its supplier's halal label.

Sucuk and pastirma: how they differ

• Format: sucuk is a sausage made from minced meat; pastirma is a whole cut of cured meat.
• Spices: garlic and cumin lead in sucuk; pastirma is recognisable by its çemen coating.
• Cut: sucuk is cut into rounds; pastirma into very thin slices.

Our sucuk and pastirma pizzas

Both are part of our Halal Menu. Before you choose, here is how we work: all meat on this menu carries its supplier's halal label, and we use dedicated gloves and tongs to place halal toppings on pizzas. The stone oven is shared with our main menu, which includes pork. The restaurant does not hold its own halal certification and is not a fully halal establishment.

• Beef Sucuk Pizza, €16.50. San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella and spicy beef sucuk.
• Beef Pastirma Pizza, €17.50. Tomato sauce, mozzarella and slices of spiced cured beef pastirma.

The other Halal Menu pizzas

• Beef Salami Pizza, €16. Tomato sauce, mozzarella and slices of halal beef salami.
• Halal Diavola, €16.50. Spicy pizza with halal salami.
• Chicken Pizza, €16. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, marinated chicken breast and peppers.

Prices include VAT. Like all our pizzas, they are baked in the stone oven. A tip when ordering: the Halal Diavola is a different recipe from the Diavola on our main menu, so ask for it by its full name.

More Turkish cooking on the Halal Menu

If you enjoy these flavours, the Halal Menu brings together more authentic Turkish cuisine: döner made with beef and lamb, marinated for 36 hours and carved by hand, köfte, and clay-pot specialities such as karnıyarık or mushrooms baked with kaşar, a semi-cured Turkish cheese.

See all our pizzas on Italian pizza in Marbella and book a table on our reservations page or on +34 951 21 97 72. If you have any allergies or food intolerances, please let our team know: we have detailed information about allergens available.