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Pizokel
Pizokel: Graubünden buckwheat dumplings fried with chard, onion and mountain cheese
SwissPizokel, or bizochels in Romansh, are the hand-scraped dumplings of Graubünden, the mountainous canton in the south-east around Chur and the Engadine: a soft dough of buckwheat and wheat flour, egg and milk is scraped off a wooden board into boiling water, then the little dumplings are fried in butter with Swiss chard or cabbage and onion and layered with grated mountain cheese. Mountain cheeses are usually made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one. A common mistake is a stiff dough, which makes heavy pizokel. Chef's tip: the dough should be soft and sticky like spätzle batter; wet the knife each time you scrape.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- 5 ½ oz buckwheat flour
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp saltfor the water
For finishing
- 1 ¾ oz butter
- 1 onionsliced
- 10 ½ oz Swiss chardshredded
- 5 ½ oz mountain cheesegrated; vegetarian
- ¼ tsp black pepper
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Beat 5 ½ oz buckwheat flour, 5 ½ oz plain flour, 3 eggs, ¾ cup milk and 1 tsp salt into a soft, sticky dough. Rest 20 minutes. Common mistake: a stiff dough.
20 minStep 2: Bring a large pot of water with 1 tbsp salt to the boil. Spread some dough on a wet board and scrape thin strips into the water with a wet knife. Cook until they float, 2–3 minutes. Lift out and repeat.
10 minStep 3: Melt 1 ¾ oz butter in a large pan and fry 1 onion for 5 minutes. Add 10 ½ oz Swiss chard and cook 3 minutes.
8 minStep 4: Add the pizokel and fry for 5 minutes, until golden in places.
5 minStep 5: Layer with 5 ½ oz mountain cheese in a warm dish, season with ¼ tsp black pepper and serve.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pizokel take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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