Ingredients
Dough
- 250 gplain flour
- 3eggs
- 100 mlmilk
- ½ tspsalt
- 1 tspbaking powder
Filling
- 150 gBündnerfleisch or air-dried beef, finely chopped
- 100 gSalsiz or dry salami, finely chopped
- 3 tbspchopped parsley, chives and mint
Wrapper
- 24large Swiss chard leaves
Cooking liquid
- 500 mlmilk
- 500 mlbeef or vegetable stock
To finish
- 150 gBergkäse, grated
- 100 gbacon, diced
- 100 mlcream
Directions
- Beat the flour, eggs, milk, salt and baking powder into a thick, sticky spätzle batter, then beat it hard for a full 5 minutes until it blisters and pulls away from the spoon in strands. Underbeaten batter falls apart in the pot.
- Fold in the chopped dried meat, salsiz and herbs, and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- Blanch the chard leaves for 20 seconds in boiling salted water and refresh them in cold water.
- Cut out the thickest part of the central rib from each leaf. It will not soften in the time available and it stops the parcel rolling neatly.
- Lay a leaf flat, put a heaped tablespoon of the batter near the stem end, fold the sides in over it and roll it up firmly into a parcel about the size of a thumb.
- Roll them tight. A loose capun opens in the pot and you spend the next ten minutes fishing dough out of the milk.
- Bring the milk and stock to a bare simmer in a wide pan. Never let it boil, or the milk catches on the base and splits.
- Lower the capuns in, in a single layer, and poach them for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile fry the diced bacon until crisp and set it aside.
- Lift the capuns into a warmed gratin dish, spoon over a little of the cooking liquid slackened with the cream, and scatter with the grated cheese and the bacon.
- Put the dish under a hot grill for 3 minutes until the cheese has melted and coloured, and serve at once.
Technique
- Beat the batter harder and longer than feels sensible. That is what holds the parcels together.
- It is a Graubünden mountain dish, built on the two things a mountain household kept through winter: dried meat and chard from the garden.
- Wrap them in advance and poach them to order. They sit happily in the refrigerator for a day.
Substitutions
- Bresaola in place of Bündnerfleisch, chopped as finely.
- Large outer cabbage leaves if chard is not available. Spinach is too small and tears.
Variations
- Baked in the oven under cream and cheese rather than poached.
- A vegetarian version with dried mushrooms in place of the meat.
- The smaller Val Lumnezia size, poached in stock alone.
History
A Graubünden mountain dish using chard as a wrapper, finished with cheese and bacon.
Frequently asked questions
What is Capuns?
Capuns is a main from Switzerland: spätzle dough with dried meat wrapped in chard leaves, simmered in milk. A Graubünden mountain dish using chard as a wrapper, finished with cheese and bacon.
How long does Capuns take to make?
Capuns takes 45 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 24 parcels. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Capuns?
Yes, within limits. Bresaola in place of Bündnerfleisch, chopped as finely. Large outer cabbage leaves if chard is not available. Spinach is too small and tears.
What is the most important thing to get right in Capuns?
Bring the milk and stock to a bare simmer in a wide pan. Never let it boil, or the milk catches on the base and splits.
