Roaming Roots

CURLY DOCK

August 18, 2022

Our first camp in Washington state was in the town of Poulsbo in Central Puget Sound, a region characterized by a complex array of saltwater bays, atolls, and peninsulas sculpted by prehistoric glaciers.

We took the ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle and spent a day exploring Pike’s Market and I nabbed some fresh chanterelle mushrooms for our breakfast.

Another day my cousin also took us to Marymere Falls in Olympic National Park.

We continued west to Leavenworth, a quaint Bavarian-style village, and I picked some curly dock seeds.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Curly dock is a common perennial weed originally from Eurasia in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae.

The leaves grow in a rosette, or circular, formation, are dull green and lanceolate with a wavy margin. Side note, crispus is the Latin word for “curly.” 

Stems are 1-4’ tall, erect, round and hairless with ridges. Characteristic of docks, the stems have a small thin sheath called an ocrea where the leaf attaches.

Midsummer, numerous small flowers hang in clusters from the tips of the stems. These flowers have no petals, only two sets of greenish-yellow sepals that turn red in color as the season progresses.

TRADITIONAL USES AND HERBAL BENEFITS

DOCK LEAVES are rich in iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory flavonoids called quercetin and myricetin. Quercetin has additional anti-allergic and antihistamine characteristics, and myricetin also has hypoglycemic and antiviral properties. The tart, lemony leaves are eaten as a side dish or added to soups.

The sour flavor of dock comes from oxalic acid, an organic acid found in numerous plants. It can be synthesized by the body but it does bind minerals and has been linked to kidney stones.

DOCK ROOTS have a long history as an herbal ally used to treat constipation and inflammatory-based conditions such as eczema and rheumatism.

DOCK SEEDS can be ground into a fiber-rich flour high in vitamin A.

Recipe

Dock Flour Spätzle

STEP 1: Making dock flour

Most resources assert that removing the husk from the seed is too tedious and grinding both together makes an adequate flour. Some recommend roasting prior to grinding, but as we do not have an oven in the camper, I went straight to the spice grinder.

Even with a fine grind, dock seed flour is heavy and has no gluten. Therefore, it is recommended to mix it with another lighter type of flour.

STEP 2: Making spätzle

Spätzle is a type of German dumpling made with flour and eggs. There are numerous devices to assist in making spätzle, but my favorite is the “hopper” type shown velow called a spätzlehobel. With this device I can make fresh home-made spätzle in the same time it takes to boil boring, dried store noodles.

Dock Flour Spätzle

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dock flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk
• Garlic powder
• Salt & pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

In a bowl, whisk together the flours, eggs, milk, and seasonings. Stir until the spätzle batter is well combined.

If using a spätzlehobel, place the square hopper on the sliding tracks of the flat component. Once the spätzlehobel is assembled, rest it on the edges of the water pot. Fill the hopper with your spätzle batter and begin sliding the hopper back and forth over the simmering water. Soon your hopper will be empty and there will be little delicious dumpling cooking in the bubbly water.

Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Stir occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the spätzle to a colander so that excess water can drip off. Then sauté in butter until brown.

I paired our dock flour spätzle with pan-seared salmon and a summer corn, tomato and caper sauté.

I had read that the seed husks can make dock flour bitter so I only used a 1:4 ratio to wheat flour. I found our spätzle delightfully nutty and this recipe is definitely a keeper.

References

Burke Herbarium Image Collection. (n.d.). Rumex. https://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/browse.php?Genus=Rumex

HerbaZest. (2022). Curly dock. https://www.herbazest.com/herbs/curly-dock#:~:text=1%20Cooked.%20Curly%20dock%20leaves%20are%20rich%20in,be%20ground%20into%20a%20gluten-free%20flour%20as%20well.

Orr, E. (n.d.). Curly dock: edible invasive weed. Wild edible. https://www.wildedible.com/curly-dock

Schutz. T. (2021, March). Wisconsin weed identification: Curly dock – Rumex crispus. University of Wisconsin. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/wisconsin-weed-identification-curly-dock-rumex-crispus/

Vinskofski, S. (2020, October 28). How to forage and make dock seed flour. Learning and yearning. https://learningandyearning.com/dock-seed-flour/#:~:text=Even%20with%20a%20fine%20grind%2C%20dock%20seed%20flour,in%20chocolate%20recipes%2C%20like%20these%20Dock%20Seed%20Brownies.

Zachos, E. (2018, March 2). All about dock (members of the genus Rumex). The backyard forager. https://backyardforager.com/dock-genus-rumex/