How to forage and cook rambling dock, the edible weed.

Wild mushrooms risotto with rambling dock

Rambling dock - Acetosa sagittata - is one of the most popular of the wild greens that I present to restaurants and bars; its juicy, sour, fresh flavour makes it a standout ingredient in salads and cocktails. The plant goes by other names as well, like Turkey rhubarb and potato vine. Even the scientific name has an internationally recognised synonym: Rumex acetosa, while Acetosa sagittata is only recognised in Australia.

This plant grows absolutely everywhere along the coastal fringes of south-eastern Australia (see map below), and at any time of the year, you are bound to find some juicy young leaves. If you’re interested in this plant, do consider joining your local bush regeneration group, as they will no doubt direct you to several ‘infestations’. They will also give you a big bag that you can fill with as much rambling dock as you like.

Identification

Rambling dock is a climber that ‘rambles’ over other bushes and plants. It is regarded as a perennial plant, as it has the ability to create underground tubers, from which it can regrow if the aboveground growth dies off due to frost or drought – or human attempts at eradication. It produces long runners, up to 4 metres in length. Each runner has several branches, which act like ladders, allowing the plant to overcome other vegetation when competing for sunlight.
Rambling dock is a striking plant, and once you recognise its features you can easily spot it from quite a distance.

Leaves and stalks

The leaves are the most readily recognisable feature of the plant: they grow in an alternate arrangement along the stems and have a peculiar arrowhead shape. They are 6–10 centimetres long and 3–5 centimetres wide. The stems, which are ribbed, start off green, turning red as they age or when stressed due to lack of water or cold weather. A great way to remember this plant is in the scientific name: Acetosa which translates to acidic or sour while sagittata means Sagittarius, the archer or arrowhead. SO, put it all together and you get sour arrowhead!

Flowers and seeds

The flowers are small, green to off-white, growing in grape-like clusters. They develop into three-winged paper-like seed pods, which are green at first, before turning red and finally cream-white when fully mature. When young and green the papery seeds have a fantastic green apple taste, try them, they are surprisingly good.

How to eat Rambling dock

The leaves and young shoots have a sharp, lemon sherbet-like flavour that always surprises people when they first encounter it. It’s like sucking on a lemon, but with the higher acidity notes of sorrel (Rumex acetosa).
The leaves can be cooked, and although they lose some sharpness and colour in the process they transform into a pleasant, silky-textured vegetable with a sweet-sour flavour. In Indonesia, the leaves are used in place of tamarind and are baked with fish.
I love them best raw in salsa verde (see below for a recipe) or in fresh salads, for example, Vietnamese-style noodle salads, with chilli and bitter greens such as flatweed, dandelion or sow thistle.
Rambling dock is a very popular garnish for cocktails, particularly gin-based ones, offering not only a sharpness that balances the gin’s tannins and tonic water’s bitter tones but is also an interesting, bright-green visual feature for the drink’s presentation.
I always de-stem the leaves before using them in the kitchen, as the stems can be a bit woody. During a series of TEDx talks in Sydney in 2015, I provided ingredients for the catering. The theme for the three-day event’s menu was Rebel Food. For this occasion, I was working with then, head chef of ARIA catering, Sarah Jewell. She created an incredibly simple – yet perfect – salad of carrot peelings with rambling dock leaves, bringing together a deep orange, sweet and earthy by-product of catering, and a bright green, sharp and crunchy weed. Delicious. I still talk about it.

This week I collaborated with fellow forager and wildcrafter Gabriel of Ziggy Wild Foods and produced a video of how to identify and forage rambling dock which Gabriel then used together with wild fennel as an ingredient for a wallaby sausage. Just delicious, unexpected, gamey and uniquely Australian.

Three weed salsa verde

The tangy lemon flavour of rambling dock is perfectly suited to this recipe, which is an adaptation of my mum’s original. It can be served as a dipping sauce, condiment or marinade. Makes about 8 servings.

Ingredients
2 cups rambling dock leaves
1/2 cup farmers friend leaves
1/2 cup dandelion leaves
1 cup parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons capers, drained
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
A dash of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Place rambling dock, farmers friend, dandelion, parsley, garlic and capers in a food processor. Mix until finely chopped.
2. With the motor running, add oil, vinegar, mustard and lemon juice to the mixture. Process until well combined.
3. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Rambling and farner’s friend salsa verde

CAUTION
Rambling dock contains oxalic acid, which gives it a sharp flavour. This is perfectly safe when eaten in small quantities and is present in many of our commonly eaten vegetables, but rambling dock should not be eaten in excessive amounts. People suffering from rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should avoid oxalic acid.

Print it!

This is yet another juicy plant that can easily be transformed into a great activity with kids or creatives alike, print it!
See below for some visuals to get you inspired. All you need is some acrylic, ink or oil paint, dab the leaves on both sides, arrange the leaves between two sheets of paper and roll with a pin roll from the kitchen.
Amazing results when the sap of the plant mix with the ink/paint to create subtle and rewarding little monoprints.

Dab with paint, arrange on paper, squash with pin roller

DISCLAIMER: This information should be used as a guide only. It is not my intention to advise anyone on medical conditions, rather, I am presenting a new way to look at the plants growing in your yard.

Let me help you help yourself: if you are unsure about the identity of your plants tag me in a picture or comment below, and I’ll endeavour to help.

This article is one of the many that will be published in my upcoming book: Eat Weeds. Out in March 2022, get ready for it!