This recipe is one of the gastronomic emblems of the Grisons (Graubünden or Grischun in their different local languages). This canton is located in the east of Switzerland and is the largest in the country. The preparation of “capuns” varies significantly as you go through the towns, but basically it consists of chard rolls that are filled with a paste that includes typical regional sausages, and are baked or boiled with a final touch of a mountain cheese gratin.
Ingredients:
About 12 chard leaves
A little mountain cheese to gratin
For the filling:
75 g of flour
50 ml milk
50 g lean quark
1 egg
50 g of “Grisons dried meat” and/or “salsiz”
Parsley and chives to taste
For the cooking base:
200 ml vegetable broth
100 ml whole milk (or cream)
Optional to decorate:
1 caramelized onion
Some cubes of bacon or strips of dried meat
Some parsley leaves
Prepare a vegetable broth in a pot. Strain it and at the end of cooking add the milk, heat for a few minutes and set aside.
Prepare a bowl with ice cold water. Blanch the chard leaves for just a minute and then put them in the cold water to stop the cooking. Discard the stem and also cut a few cm of the hardest part of it that is between the green part of the leaves.
Prepare the filling in a bowl with the flour, milk, quark, egg, meat cut into cubes and chopped herbs. Mix until integrated.
Place a spoonful of filling on the chard leaf, a few centimeters away from the edge we had cut. Fold the edge so as to cover the filling, then fold the sides, covering the filling again, and continue rolling until the sheet has been totally folded and completely covering the filling.
Transfer the capuns to an ovenproof dish, cover with the broth and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. If desired, add the grated cheese at the end and gratin for a few minutes.
Serve the capuns in a deep plate with a little broth. For a more complete presentation, caramelize an onion and add diced bacon or slices of dried meat cut into thin strips to the pan. Decorate the capuns with this stir-fry and some parsley leaves.
Tips and tricks:
- The quantities indicated are calculated for a starter for two people.
- Some recipes include a little peppermint in the filling. This ingredient is sometimes simply (and wrongly) called mint, but its main characteristic is that it does not have menthol.
- Sometimes grated cheese is added to the filling, instead of using it for the gratin.
- The paste obtained for the filling should be very thick. If it turns out to be too liquid, add a little more flour.
- The quark isn’t mandatory, but it helps to thicken the paste without using too much flour. When we do without it, we must add more flour and milk.
- Grisons dried meat is a sausage made from beef fillet, similar to Italian Bresaola.
- Salt the broth very lightly and ideally do not spice up the filling, since the sausages and cheese provide enough salt to the preparation.
- In some recipes the capuns are not baked, but simply added to the saucepan with broth and simmered for 20 minutes over low heat. In this case, you can add the grated cheese at the end (it will melt instead of gratin). Or otherwise, you can serve the capuns and add cheese on top on the plate.