flipCapuns — Chard Rolls Stuffed with Dried Meat
Capuns — Chard Rolls Stuffed with Dried Meat
Why this dish? Capuns are THE emblematic dish of Grisons, Giacometti's home canton, prepared with family on Sundays and holidays. Rolling the chard leaves one by one is patient, collective work, much like the evenings in Stampa where people gathered together.
Small sausages of spätzle dough, studded with dried meat and herbs, wrapped in a chard leaf, simmered in a milk broth then gratinéed with cheese. The great Sunday dish of Grisons.
For capuns, you need several people — we'd sit around the table and each roll a chard leaf around the dough, like swaddling a baby. We'd tuck in bits of dried meat, whatever we had. My grandmother said a well-sealed capun never opens during cooking — a bit like a good form, it must hold on its own. We drown them in cheese, gratiné them, and then, believe me, even I stop working to sit down at the table.
- •Large chard leaves (Swiss chard) — about twenty (wrapper)
- •Flour — two bowls (dough)
- •Eggs — a few (dough)
- •Milk — a little (dough and broth)
- •Dried meat and Grisons sausage (Salsiz), diced — a good portion (savory filling)
- •Garden herbs (parsley, chives, mint) — a handful (flavor)
- •Grated mountain cheese — as much as you like (gratin)
Capuns — Chard Rolls Stuffed with Dried Meat
Small sausages of spätzle dough, studded with dried meat and herbs, wrapped in a chard leaf, simmered in a milk broth then gratinéed with cheese. The great Sunday dish of Grisons.
Why this dish? Capuns are THE emblematic dish of Grisons, Giacometti's home canton, prepared with family on Sundays and holidays. Rolling the chard leaves one by one is patient, collective work, much like the evenings in Stampa where people gathered together.
For capuns, you need several people — we'd sit around the table and each roll a chard leaf around the dough, like swaddling a baby. We'd tuck in bits of dried meat, whatever we had. My grandmother said a well-sealed capun never opens during cooking — a bit like a good form, it must hold on its own. We drown them in cheese, gratiné them, and then, believe me, even I stop working to sit down at the table.
Ingredients (period version)
- Large chard leaves (Swiss chard) — about twenty (wrapper)
- Flour — two bowls (dough)
- Eggs — a few (dough)
- Milk — a little (dough and broth)
- Dried meat and Grisons sausage (Salsiz), diced — a good portion (savory filling)
- Garden herbs (parsley, chives, mint) — a handful (flavor)
- Grated mountain cheese — as much as you like (gratin)
Ingredients
- Large chard leaves (Swiss chard) — 20 leaves (wrapper)
- Flour — 250 g (dough)
- Eggs — 2 (dough)
- Milk — 100 ml + 300 ml for broth (dough and broth)
- Grisons dried meat + Salsiz (or dry cured ham), small dice — 150 g (savory filling)
- Chopped parsley, chives, and a little mint — 1 handful (flavor)
- Vegetable broth — 300 ml (cooking)
- Grated mountain cheese (Bergkäse) — 100 g (gratin)
- Butter — 40 g (finish)
Method
- Briefly blanch the chard leaves in boiling water, refresh in cold water, and spread on a cloth.
- Mix flour, eggs, milk, and a pinch of salt into a thick batter; fold in the diced dried meat and herbs.
- Place a spoonful of batter on each leaf and roll tightly into a small sausage, like a cigar.
- Arrange the capuns in a sauté pan, pour in the warm broth + milk mixture, cover, and poach for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle with grated cheese and dot with butter, broil until golden and bubbly, serve piping hot.
How it was made : A totem dish of Grisons, capuns exist in countless variations from valley to valley — each family has its recipe, its secret herb, its way of rolling. They used whatever the house had: leftover dough, dried meat, garden herbs. It was a way to turn little into a Sunday feast.
The contemporary twist : Plated vertically, standing upright in the dish like a small forest of elongated figures — a nod to the sculptor's stretched silhouettes.
Sources : Patrimoine culinaire suisse — Capuns (Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz) · Cuisine des Grisons, traditions des vallées
Alberto Giacometti · Charactorium
