Capuns Dumplings

Loves, I’m back! Busy weekend, busier week, but hey, we all know the glorification of busy is just so lame, so I’ll spare you the details… Hehe. Much better, instead: the Lindt Holiday Box giveaway is closed! Uhm, I mean: the winners have been picked! There were so many beautiful comments from you, I can’t even… A giveaway is something so exciting and nerve wrecking, haha.

No, seriously, thank you! I’ve read each of your lovely, sweet, original, well-meaning, encouraging comments (and poems! too!) countless times and I cherish each and every single one. Thank you, thank you. I’m humbled. And I’m making sure I’m pushing myself even more now, for you, dear readers. Anyway, so the day has come, the giveaway is closed, and I would love to send one of these lovely little Boxes that are waiting in (and messing up) my dining room to be sent out. But now, shush! I don’t want to put you on the rack any longer… Instead, *BAM*: here are the three lucky winners, picked at random by a magic online raffle tool *woosh* and *trumpedsound*:

Manuela S. 
Lillaa
Christina D. 

Congrats, M, L and C! You ladies will get an email from me; in fact, it’s almost already on its way to you. Please make sure to reply with your mailing address asap. If you do not contact me by Friday, 11th December, your Box will go to someone else that will be chosen at random as well.

 

Now… want me to tell you something about these lovely dumplings (I can’t help it, I’ve got a soft spot for dumplings)? They were a creation for Kuoni magazine “elsewhere”. They asked me to go abroad with my fork and dream up something that’s basically Swiss but with an exotic twist. Somethings that instantly transports you to somewhere far away, somewhere different. So I came up with these Capuns Dumplings. Capuns are a very intricately made Swiss traditional food, that’s originally served in the mountain region of Graubünden. The neat packages – traditionally filled with a buckwheat dough and dried, cured beef – are the ideal dish to experiment with and turn into something with a distinct Asian feel. We added a filling of minced beef and spiced rice and some ginger for good measure. Dip in soy sauce and enjoy (with chopsticks, of course!). Perfect starter for the holidays, I’d say!

 

[fourcol_one][/fourcol_one][twocol_one]Capuns Dumplings
Makes 15 dumplings

Ingredients:
15 swiss chard leaves (if possible with the stem)
2 tbsp. oil
100 g minced beef
2 cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 piece chili, finely chopped
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 cup rice (round grains)
1 tbsp. turmeric
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable or miso broth
1 tbsp. sesame oil
soy sauce and pickled ginger for serving

Directions:
Carefully blanch the whole chard leaves in boiling water (the stems should remain intact) very shortly, drain and cool in ice water immediately. Drain, spread out on a kitchen towel and leave to dry.

In a hot pan, sweat the spices – ginger, garlic, chili – in oil. Add the mince and sear from all sides, then deglaze with soy sauce. Put aside to cool a little, then add the chopped parsley.

In the meantime, cook the rice (if you want with turmeric in the water) in lightly salted water until almost tender. Let cool a little, then combine with the minced beef.

Now start to fill the dumplings / leaves: ad one teaspoon of the minced beef and rice filling on the top third of the leaf. Fold over both lengths, then roll up from the bottom. Curl the stems around the dumplings and seal by folding the tips in or – depending on the stems’ lengths – carefully twisting and knotting them, to achieve the best possible, sealed wraps or packages.

Gently place the dumplings in a buttered (optional), oven proof pan, add the broth to fil up half the pan and heat through in the oven at 180º C or 350º F for about 15 minutes. Before serving, brush the dumplings with some sesame oil. Serve with soy sauce for dipping and pickled ginger.[/twocol_one][fourcol_one_last][/fourcol_one_last][gap height=”20″]