Curly dock, a wild green best in early spring and late fall, grows close to the ground and has long narrow leaves and wavy edges.
A popular (inexpensive) vegetable during the Great Depression, curly dock has a somewhat lemony flavor and, when cooked down, works great on top of roasted fish (similar to a classic French sorrel sauce). Or, you can simply chop it up and thrown in seasonal soups. Nutritionally, curly dock has double the vitamin C of grocery store spinach and a third more protein, iron, calcium, potassium, and beta-carotene.
For more about curly dock, and urban foraging, check out Fall Foraging in Boston: Burdock and Wild Greens.
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RECIPE: Curly Dock Sauté
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 bunch curly dock, about 4 cups packed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Wash and dry curly dock. Trim any thick stems and chop roughly.
- Warm olive oil on medium heat and add garlic to sizzle. Cook for thirty seconds, then stir in the chopped dock. Cook until the dock has shrunk in size and turned a dark brown-green color, 1-2 minutes (the same way you’d cook spinach).
- Squeeze in lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve on top of fish, toast, or other meats or vegetables.
