Fancy taking a culinary trip to Eastern Switzerland? Try making these tasty Capuns, traditional Swiss dumplings.

What are Capuns?
These cabbage dumpling parcels are from the German part of Switzerland (the east). They’re made from local ingredients including Chard and Salsiz, a well-known Swiss-German sausage. The dumplings are then poached in a flavourful creamy bouillon and then served up with grilled cheese and extra strips of sausage.
The Dough Filling
There’s no kneading necessary in this recipe. So, grab yourself a wooden spoon or a large whisk and get mixing!
In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients:
- Plain flour
- Salt
- Egg
- Yoghurt
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
Feel free to add more flour or milk depending on the consistency of the dough. You want it to be sticky but not runny. Once you’ve combined those ingredients, add in your fried onion, Swiss sausage, and parsley. If you don’t have access to Salsiz, feel free to substitute it with an alternative saucisson/dried meat. Keep mixing until everything is well incorporated and then set aside in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Wrapping Capuns
The unique aspect of these green-covered dumplings is the wrapper. The dumpling itself is already made, so technically, you could just poach the dough by itself in the creamy bouillon and it would be a dumpling. However, to complete this dish, you must wrap the dumpling in a wilted Swiss chard leaf.
Swiss chard is a beautiful leaf with multicoloured stems. Simply trim down the chard so only the leaf remains and keep the stem for another dish. Boil the leaves in water for 1 minute or until they’re malleable enough to work with.
The Poaching Sauce
Possibly the easiest poaching sauce (apart from water). Combine cream and beef stock (or bouillon) in a pan with a touch of water. Bring it up to a simmer and then turn off the heat. Tadaaa, your sauce is ready to begin poaching!
Cooking & Serving Capuns
Once you’ve tucked all of your Swiss dumplings into their leafy beds, place them delicately in an oven dish. Gently pour over your creamy bouillon, cover with tin foil, and then place them in the oven for around 15-20 minutes.
While you’re waiting, prepare your toppings. Grate some Swiss cheese (Gruyère is always fun) and finely chop up some more salsiz or dried meat. Remove the Capuns from the oven and sprinkle with cheese and salsiz. Optionally, you can grill the cheese to add a bit of colour! Then, serve up on a plate, drizzle over the bouillon sauce, and enjoy!
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Check Out My Dumpling World Tour Series
I've set myself a challenge to go around the world in 80 dumplings. Why? Because so many countries share a love for dumplings and every country’s dumplings have their own unique twist. From Varenyky in Ukraine to Banh Bot Loc in Vietnam, dumplings are a way for us to celebrate various cultures and culinary differences from all parts of the globe.
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More Delicious Recipes from my Dumpling World Tour
Capuns (Swiss Dumplings)
Ingredients
Dough
- 175g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 100ml milk
- 1 onion, finely chopped & fried
- 2 inches Salsiz (dried sausage), finely chopped
- Bunch parsley, finely chopped
Wrapper
- 6 swiss chard leaves
Poaching Sauce
- 100ml single cream
- ½ cube of beef stock
- 100ml water
Toppings
- 50g Swiss cheese, grated
- A few more thin slices of the dried sausage
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 210C or 190C fan.
For The Dough
- In a large bowl, add in all of the ingredients apart from the sausage, fried onions, and parsley. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Then, add in the three remaining ingredients and mix mix mix!
- You want the dough to be of a similar consistency to a very thick cake batter. If the mixture is too wet, simply add more flour.
- Cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge for 15 minutes.
The Wrapper
- Cut off the stems of the Swiss chard so you're left with the leaf.
- Boil the leaves for 1 minute and then remove and pat dry.
Wrapping The Dumpling
- Place a chard leaf on a surface and place a spoonful of the dough at the thicker-ended stem side of the leaf. Gently wrap and roll the dumpling up into a parcel by folding in the edges as you go.
- Repeat this process with all the other 6 dumplings.
Cooking & Serving The Capuns
- Place the Capuns in a baking dish and pour over the creamy bouillon.
- Cover the dish with tin foil and place the dumplings into the oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the dumplings from the oven and sprinkle them with Gruyère cheese and dried sausage. Serve up and enjoy!
Henry
So yummy!!
myriadrecipes
Thank you! xxx