Rumex Crisps: Dock Seed Crackers
The latin name for curly dock, a wild plant with edible leaves and seeds, is Rumex crispus (see previous post for foraging/harvesting info). Thus, when I decided to use the toasted seeds in a cracker, the name was obvious. Let's be honest - I made these crackers specifically because I came up with the name Rumex crisps. I'm a sucker for wordplay. On the plus side, the seeds paired beautifully with the rye flour for a delicious, crispy, nutty-tart cracker that is great alongside rich creamy cheeses and sweet dried apricots (or other fruit). The below recipe makes about 36 2-inch crackers, depending on how thinly you roll out the dough.
Toasted vs. raw dock seeds.
1/2 cup toasted dock seeds
3/4 - 1 cup rye flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, plus more for brushing
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup water
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl, blend together dock seeds, 3/4 cup rye flour, and salt. Stir in grapeseed oil, honey, and water until incorporated. Add more rye flour as needed so dough is no longer sticky, but still moist.
Divide dough in half and roll out thinly on a floured surface (not paper-thin, but "cracker-thin"). Don't stress too much about the thickness - if the crackers are thicker, they'll just take a bit longer to cook.
Cut crackers into any shape that you like, such as squares, diamonds, or strips, and place them on a baking sheet. Crackers can be close together, as they hold their shape as they cook. Gather dough scraps, re-roll, and cut as needed. Repeat with remaining dough half.
Brush crackers lightly with grapeseed oil (or rub with fingers), sprinkle with a little more salt, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Store in an airtight container and enjoy for up to 2 weeks. If you live in a humid environment, crackers can be re-toasted in the oven.
A diamond-shaped Rumex crisp with a creamy sheepsmilk cheese and vetch tip flower.
Toasted Dock Seeds
Raw dock seeds are beautiful, but (in my opinion) not as tasty.
Dock, or Rumex spp. (general and foraging info here), has tart edible leaves that are available in the spring, but the real treat to me are the seeds of the dock, which you can find in the later spring through summer on the West Coast (and most of the world). The seeds can be eaten raw, but are better toasted and, being a member of the buckwheat family, can be used like you would buckwheat (which is a seed itself, not a grain). Try mixing the seeds into a granola or dough for crackers, sprinkling them over poached fish, or grinding them into a flour and using it for baking.
To remove the seeds from the plant, first wash and shake out the dock to dry it then simply run your fingers down the length of the stalk, pulling off seeds as you go. You might want to do this outside, as dock seeds have a tendency to "jump".
Toast the seeds in a cast iron pan on medium high, stirring frequently to cook the seeds evenly. In my experience, 1 cup of seeds in a medium cast iron pan will take about 10 minutes, but this will changed depending on how many seeds you're toasting at once and size of pan (less seeds = more exposure to heat).
Dock seeds, toasty brown.
Dock: Come for the leaves, stay for the seeds
Rumex crispus, or "curly dock" leaf and seeds.
Young dock leaves.
Dock, or Rumex spp. is so ubiquitous on the West Coast in the spring and summer that even if you aren't looking for it, you have probably seen it. Dock has lance-shaped, elliptical leaves that start out small and tender, but can grow quite large and tough and begin to turn yellow and/or red as they age. The two most common varieties are curly dock, Rumex crispus (pictured in this post, also known as yellow dock), and broad-leafed dock, which have characteristics that befit their names.
The leaves have a lemony taste to them that works well in a salad when they're small and tender, but are better wilted or sautéed when older and tougher. Try topping a bed of dock leaves with warm gnocchi or freshly grilled meat or adding a handful of dock leaves to a soup. A member of the buckwheat family, Polygonacaae, the seeds are similar to buckwheat seeds but not as hard. When toasted, the seeds have a slightly tart-nutty flavor similar to rye, look kind of like ants (really), and can be used in everything from granola to crackers (what I like to call, Rumex crisps) to a more realistic "ants on a log".
Dock likes to grow in urban environments - think empty lots, next to sidewalks, etc. The leaves can be found in the spring and they start to go to seed in the early summer. Even if you find dock that has gone to seed, doesn't mean that there aren't young plants still out there - the seeds will appear earlier for plants that have more sun exposure. You can eat the seeds raw, but they're much better toasted (in my opinion). Here's a recipe for toasting the seeds.
Run fingers down stem to pull off seeds. You may need to run fingers down separate smaller stems if seeds do not come off immediately.
Heat cast iron to medium-high. Add seeds and, stirring frequently, toast until they brown and give off a nutty smell, about 10 minutes. Only add seeds so that they are less than 1/4-inch up the side of the cast iron pan or less.
You are now ready to eat the seeds as a snack or use them in a recipe, such as Rumex Crisps, dock seed crackers.
Dock leaves and seeds in an array of other wild edible plants - can you find the it?