Pick Wild Foods From Your Garden!

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Of the 15 Rumex species called docks, all are edible. None, however, is as well known—or as savory—as curled dock (synonyms: narrow-leaved dock and yellow dock). The plant's name refers to the fact that its slender, lance-shaped leaves—most of which sprout directly from the ground—have wavy edges. Often, these leaves reach two feet or more in length . . . while the weed's spindly flower stalks grow to a height of four or five feet before they bear small, green blossoms.

Curled dock's glossy foliage is unusually flavorful ... often (especially if the leaves are more than a foot long) to the point of tasting bitter. There are two ways of dealing with this unpalatable pungency.

The first is to boil the plant through two waters. (In other words, place the leaves in cold water in a pan, bring to a boil, drain the hot water off, and—after adding more liquid to the container—cook the foliage until it's tender.) Yes, by doing this you are pouring valuable vitamins down the drain . . . but the steaminghot greens that remain in the pan are—in my estimation—among the best-tasting of all wild vegetables. As a result, I make up for the lost nutrients by eating more leaves than I would if they tasted bitter!

A second effective way to rid dock leaves of their astringency is to cream them. To do this, simply [1] mix a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of melted butter in a pan, [2] add two cups of chopped dock leaves and 1/2 cup of milk to the butter-flour paste, and [3] cook—stirring constantly—until the sauce thickens. The result: a gourmet's delight, without the "bite".

SHEEP SORREL (Rumex acetosella)

A close relative of curled dock—and a frequent inhabitant of neglected gardens—is sheep sorrel (also known as sourgrass).

While it's true that the light-green, arrowhead-shaped leaves of sourgrass are a bit acid-tasting (due to the presence of potassium oxalate) and shouldn't be eaten in excess . . . don't let this keep you from upping the "zip factor" of your salads, soups, and other dishes with small amounts of sheep sorrel foliage. (Place a few leaves of acetosella— literally , "small vinegar plant"—in a salad and you can omit the vinegar from your dressing!)

Sheep sorrel's crisp tartness makes it the perfect accompaniment to fish. Verify this for yourself by including some chopped sourgrass leaves in your favorite seafood sauce . . . or—the next time you bake a whole, stuffed fish—add a small quantity of sorrel to the stuffing mix.

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