Curly dock rollatini | Vegetarian cuisine with foraged ingredients

This foraged take on Italian American rollatini comes together much quicker and easier than any eggplant dish could ever dream of. It's quite tasty too! 

Rollatini is an Americanization of the word involtini, which is apparently Italian for "small bundles," an accurate description of the dish. 

Regardless of what you call them, when you swap the eggplant for curly dock you don't have to bread or pre-fry the rolls, cutting calories from breadcrumbs and oil. More important to me, it cuts over 20 minutes (more like 30) off the cook time! 

But this dish comes together FAST. Almost too fast, to be honest, as it can be easy to over-cook the curly dock leaves. They are no less delicious overcooked, but the texture is more pleasing when it's just a little bit toothsome. 

For this reason, the recipe works best if your curly dock leaves are largely the same size, thickness/toughness, and maturity, so they all cook together the same amount. 

Wild garlic

Curly dock rollatini with wild garlic & horseweed

Serves 4 as a main course

8 large, mature, curly dock leaves *

15 oz. ricotta cheese 

1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided

3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store bought 

~ 10 wild garlic stalks with bulbed heads, minced *

6 - 8 horseweed leaves, minced *

5 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 egg

Salt to taste

Olive oil, optional

1. For around 1 minute, lightly cook the minced garlic in a drizzle olive oil over medium heat, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Use the same pan you will cook the meal in. This step is optional. 
2. In a medium or large bowl, mix the ricotta, half the mozzarella, wild garlic, basil, egg, garlic powder, a pinch of salt, and horseweed.
3. Rinse your curly dock leaves carefully. Don't trim the petioles (leaf stems). Spread the curly dock leaves out and coat thinly (1/4 inch) with the ricotta mixture. 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Starting with the narrow end, roll your leaf up on itself till you have a little bundle. Wrap the petiole loosely around the bundle.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Place your bundles in the pan, petiole side down. Generously pour tomato sauce over and around the bundles. Cover the pan and simmer over medium-low for 10-15 minutes, or until petioles are tender. 
   
   
   
   
   
6. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, uncover and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese. (Though, of course, I forgot to do this.)
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.  Also makes good leftovers!

You can use skim or part-skim for the ricotta and mozzarella. 

* You can substitute 4 cloves of regular garlic for the wild garlic, and oregano for the tarragon. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for the curly dock. For this recipe, I recommend leaves that are 10-14" long and at least 3" wide at the widest part. 

When it comes to portion size, it's important to remember that these rollatini have a larger cheese to vegetable ratio than traditional eggplant rollatini, as the leaves are thinner. 2 rollatini should be a portion size, and pair nicely with a side salad. 

Keto teriyaki steak rolls with curly "docksparagus" and garlic scapes

The long flower stalks of curly dock
can be cooked like asparagus

Curly dock, Rumex crispus, is one of the most versatile and abundant wild plants around. The broad, vitamin-rich leaves are the most-known part of the plant, and can be used like spinach or kale. 

As a biannual plant, curly dock produces only energy-gathering leaves over its first growing season. During the second season, the plant will shoot up a central stalk that will flower and eventually go to seed. 

These stalks are a very tasty and unique vegetable, similar in texture to asparagus, but with a sour/tart flavor, more pronounced than the leaves, but less than lemon or rhubarb. Due to the look and the texture, foragers sometimes call this part of the plant "docksparagus".

For dinner last weekend used  made teriyaki-marinated, steak-wrapped wild veggie bundles, topped with a teriyaki glaze, inspired by negimaki. I used docksparagus, wild garlic scapes, and some bell peppers for color and texture. The rolls were very easy and quick to put together, not counting marinade time, with a pretty early clean up as well. 

You can even do the bulk of the work (preparing the marinade) in advance, and store in the fridge.

They came out delicious, while still being healthy: low calorie, keto / low carb, full of nutrients, and dairy-free. 

Using the bulbils of wild garlic is super easy:
no peeling required!

I opted to use wild garlic bulbils (i've been calling them bulbettes al this time) heads instead of store-bought garlic here. I love using this garlic stage, it's so easy. The skins on the garlic bulbils are so incredibly thin you don't have to peel them for cooked applications, just mince everything -- bulbils, skins, flowers, stalks, flower stalks -- together and use in place of commercial garlic.  

Teriyaki steak rolls with wild plants 

Makes around 12 rolls 

2lbs sirloin, flank, top or bottom round, sliced to 1/8 thick

24 long, thin docksparagus stalks, remove tough or dried-out leaves

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, or 2 half peppers for variety 

Around 36 wild garlic scapes&

For the marinade / glaze

Beef stock 3/4 cup

Soy sauce 1/2 cup

Rice wine vinegar 1/2 cup

Garlic chili oil 1/4 cup, more or less for your spice level

Olive oil 1/4 cup

Sesame oil 2 tbs

Whole bulb garlic or equivalent wild garlic, minced 

2tbs fresh grated ginger

1 tsp white pepper 

1 tsp. corn starch or other thickener

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large bowl or 9x12 baking pan. 
2. Add in the sliced beef and marinade at least one hour, or overnight. Marinade in the fridge if marinating longer than a couple of hours.
3. If you've marinaded in the fridge, remove and allow the beef to come to room temperature before cooking
4. Preheat the oven to 375.
5. Cut the docksparagus and garlic scapes into spears around 4inches long. Slice the bell peppers into long strips. 
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the sliced beef from the marinade and lay out on the parchment. Do not discard the marinade

   

   Next time I would only use garlic scapes inside the rolls, 
   no garlic heads with bulbils

   
   
7. Place a mix of veggies on each strip of beef. I used 2 bell pepper slices, 3-4 docksparagus spears and 3-4 garlic scape pieces.*
8. Roll the beef around the veggies and fasten with a toothpick. Repeat for all beef slices. Drizzle with marinade. 
   
   
   
9. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip each roll and roast for another 10 minutes. 
10. While the rolls are roasting, bring remaining marinade to a rolling boil over high heat. Boil for at least 2 minutes. 

    

    For real though, remove the toothpicks before serving. 
    Don't make the same mistakes I did

    
    
11. Mix 1 tsp. Corn starch in a small amount of water. Add to the boiling marinade and reduce heat to medium. Allow to thicken, stirring, and remove from heat. 
12. Remove the rolls from the oven, plate, REMOVE THE TOOTHPICKS and cover with the teriyaki glaze. Serve hot.

*Special note about the wild garlic. Right now north Texas wild garlic is in a variety of stages: garlic scape (one enclosed bulb at the top of the stalk), flowering and bulbils, the post-flowering mini-bulbettes at the top of the stalk. The bulbils are excellent in the marinade or in any other minced application, however, they are too thick to cook all the way through if you use them (as I did) inside the rolls. Next time I will definitely keep to the scapes inside the rolls and the bulbils only in the marinade, as they were just a bit undercooked inside the rolls.

Obligatory note on curly dock. Rumex crispus contains substantial amounts of oxalic acid. While there are many commercially grown plants that contain oxalic acid, curly dock may have a larger content. Oxalic acid should be only eaten by healthy people in moderation. (If I do a meal prep with curly dock, I will generally only eat the meals every other day, rather than every day.) People with kidney or liver issues -- especially a tendency for kidney stones -- should avoid oxalic acid, as should breast-feeding women, it can have a laxative effect that can be passed to the baby through the milk. 

Backyard weed Green Goddess dressing with Greek yogurt. Gluten free, keto, made with cleavers and henbit.

A healthier take on green goddess dressing. This swaps greek yogurt for mayonnaise, and add in some of the earliest, freshest, wild green herbs of spring. 

I don't know why it never occurred to me before, to make a dressing using edible weeds. It seems like such a simple, obvious idea; but then sometimes its harder to think of the simple stuff, right?

A green goddess dressing seemed like the perfect homage to spring. In name, anyway.

The original "green goddess" dressing dates from the early 1920s, and was named for a famous play, not because of it's use of natural, fresh spring ingredients. In fact, the original green goddess dressing is none too healthy, being mostly mayonnaise thinned out with a little vinegar, and given the barest green tint with a few herbs.

This version remedies that by removing the mayo, adding in greek yogurt, and kicking up the herbs to be the major ingredient, rather than just a flavoring. Plus, I used wild foraged herbs, ones that you can most likely find in your own backyard.

Henbit can easily take over an entire field, turning it to soft purple. I love it for it's abundant growth (great for sustainability) and for it's strong, herbal flavor. 

I chose to use cleavers, (Galium aparine) and henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) because they both have such strong, herbal flavors. There's also a TON of garlic in this dressing, so it packs a ton of flavor.  If you don't love garlic as much as I do, cut my amount by half.

Any strongly flavored wild herb would probably do well in this dressing, like creeping charlie, wood sorrel, lemon balm, bergamot/bee balm, speedwell or goldenrod (later in the year). Or if you like milder flavors you could try nettles or docks.

 Veggie burgers: it's what for din. . .I mean lunch. 

Both cleavers and henbit are invasive species from Eurasia, though they have become more or less naturalized here in North America; their status as invasive species makes them excellent for sustainablity.

I've been enjoying this dressing on EVERYTHING this week: salads, meat, and it's versatile enough to double as a dip (really good for cucumber slices and crudités).

I made it in tandem with these chickpea and curly dock burgers that I posted the other day and they've been a great, quick lunch to heat up as needed. 

Cleavers are one of the most robustly-flavored wild herbs you can gather. 

Green goddess dressing made with greek yogurt and backyard weeds

Makes about 3 cups, can be halved. Total time: >10 minutes.

3 cups of packed cleavers
2 cups of packed henbit
10.5 oz. plain, unsweetened, fat-free greek yogurt (2 individual-size servings)
4-5 bulbs of wild garlic, or 4-5 cloves of cultivated garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
juice of half a lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper.

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add in your cleavers and boil for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly.  Add in your henbit and blanch for another minute. Drain.
2. Working in batches if needed, add your cooked greens and all other ingredients to a food processor. 
3. Dressing will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Remember to store in glass, not plastic or metal. 

Foraging recipe: veggie burgers with chickpeas and edible weeds, vegetarian and gluten-free

All week long I've been eating these veggie burgers/patties, just dripping with the foraged green goddess dressing.
I'll share the dressing recipe soon!

I love me a good veggie burger. (I love a good meat burger too!)

But I've never met a pre-formed frozen patty that I could actually call a good veggie burger. Not even the expensive, organic ones from places I rarely shop in. Part of the problem, I think, is that too many veggie burgers try to be meat substitutes. They try to emulate the texture, and in some cases, the flavor of ground beef.

I guess that makes sense for vegetarians and vegans, who might be craving something they can't have. But, since I am not a vegetarian, I eat plenty of actual beef. So when I want a veggie burger, it's because I am deliberately seeking out the unique flavors, textures and even colors that you can't get with meat.

Of course, some frozen veggie burgers DON'T go the meat substitute route, but they are still a product specifically designed to be mass-produced and shipped and stored in a frozen state for an indeterminate length of time, and reheated through whatever technique the user desires. They are formed first for connivence, and only second for flavor.

This time I used wild curly dock. These burgers are also good with nettles or sow thistle.
Not a forager? Try spinach or kale instead.

My version of a good veggie burger uses a lot of leafy greens. This time I opted for curly dock, because it was abundant and looking super tasty. Sometimes I use nettles, sow thistle, wild mustard greens, pokeweed or lambsquarters, or a mix of any of the above.

I use beans. Depending on the flavor profile I'm aiming for, I usually use black beans (with Mexican seasonings), chickpeas (with Indian or Middle Eastern flavors), or white beans (cannelloni) with Italian seasonings.

This time I mixed it up. I was craving an Italian twist, but I had chickpeas on-hand. As Bob Ross would have said, "It's your world. There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."

If you're thinking that these veggie burgers sound a lot like the pokeweed veggie patties I shared last year, you're right. And I'll probably share something similar next year, I simply love having a lot of these patty/burgers, made from different ingredients, on hand.

Creamed wild greens with Greek yogurt: vegetarian, high-protein, low carb, low fat, gluten-free optional

Non-foragers, don't run away, although I made this dish with wild, foraged greens, you could easily make it with spinach or kale--and it would still be a healthier take on the creamed side dish.

Spring is officially ON in north Texas, and a lot of our freshest, tenderest wild greens are peeking out above the duff. But it can still be chilly, this year more than most, with temperatures in late February dipping into the 30s. And cold weather craves comfort food.

This dish makes great use of 3 invasive species: bastard cabbage (Rapistrum rugosum) a member of the mustard/cabbage family, curly dock (Rumex crispus), and this field garlic, I'm not sure which one it is, but if you get that garlic smell, it's an edible garlic.

If you don't have either of these wild greens, feel free to sub any mustard greens, lambsquarters, dandelion greens, sow thistle, spinach, kale, etc.

Bastard cabbage, Rapistrum rugosum.
All members of the cabbage/mustard family are edible,
if you can identify them properly.

Curly dock, Rumex crispus. An abundant, invasive wild edible,
available throughout North America.
I have a post on how to ID this plant, see below for more.

As yet unidentified wild garlic. It appears to be a hybrid with
invasive crow garlic, Allium vineale

One of the best things about this meal is that it can be on the table in under 20 minutes, and only uses one pot!!! So easy for cleanup as well. It makes a great side dish for grilled meat, or to help stretch out leftovers.

This dish is vegetarian, low in carbs, low in fat, low sugar, high in protein, and gluten-free optional.

You CAN eat thistles! Plus a vegan, paleo Greek salad recipe

Thistles. Covered in spikes, bane of young children playing outside, hated by homeowners who want a perfect yard, and loathed by ranchers who fear the weed will take over the grasslands needed by their cattle. Thistles are also edible, at least in parts.

The problem, of course, is the nasty spines. They completely cover the thick, juicy stalks, and the ruffled edges of each leaf. But if you can get beyond them, the inner core of the stem, and the "mid rib" of the leaf (the light green/whitish part), are both edible, and have a texture very similar to celery. There is one downside: thistles, especially the leaf mid rib, tend to be on the bitter side.

Spicy Sichuan black bean pork and tofu with dandelion greens and stem "lo mein". Keto-friendly, low-carb.

So last week I won an Instagram contest for a hand-carved dandelion stamp from EnchangingStamps on Etsy by sharing my favorite dandelion recipe.  I shared how, not being a huge fan of bitter flavors, I liked mixing dandelion greens (which are superfoods), into spicy dishes, where the heat mitigates some of the bitterness. My all-time favorite is a pork and tofu dish, inspired by Sichuan Mapo. It's rich with chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, black bean paste, and, of course, pork fat!

But I've never shared the recipe on my blog :( . . . In fact, I never shared ANY dandelion recipes on my blog! I think it's because there are so many great dandelion recipes out there, I haven't created any original ones myself.

But mixing spicy Asian flavors with bitter dandelions is something that I haven't seen anywhere else, so I'm making today the day I share it with you.

Foraging dandelion stem, gluten-free, keto, paleo "noodles" -- for free!

Hello! Do you ever pin something on Pinterest, 100% intending to try it, when the time is right/you have the materials/the plant you need is in season, but by the time you actually can try it, you've completely forgotten about it? I'm ashamed to say that dandelion stem "noodles" are one of those for me. 

I first saw the idea over over at Wild Food Girl, and it seemed totally interesting, but my dandelions were always short-stemmed, and growing sparsely. It didn't seem worth bending over and picking for hours for piddly little 4" noodles. 

But on Sunday, I encountered a field full of densely growing dandelion patches, where I could find 6-10 stalks in every square foot, and those stalks were long! Some were over 12". Fortunately, my mind remembered the post and I decided to experiment.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but many of the stems were a foot or so long!

And oh. my. goodness. What an experiment it was! These might be my new favorite way to eat dandelions. They become perfectly soft, almost exactly the texture of top-quality ramen noodles from your favorite restaurant. The flavor is mild and fresh, very slightly bitter, and tastes incredibly wholesome.  

And why pay for trendy, low calorie noodles, when you can get these for free? They've got nearly 0 calories, low carb, no sugar, no fat, and are gluten-free, keto and paleo!

Best of all, they extend the dandelion harvest even farther! I picked these from dandelion heads that had already gone to seed, long after the greens are good, and even after the flowers. Harvesting these stems extends dandelion season by a week or two; totally awesome, when you consider how nutritious dandelions are for you!

Dandelion stem "noodle" recipe:

Bring dandelion stems to boil in a pot of lightly salted water. Boil for about 7 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and serve as you would any other kind of noodle. Enjoy!

Burdock and pokeweed fritters, foraging recipe. Potato substitute with lower calories and higher nutrition.

Looking for a great substitute for potatoes? I really love burdock! 

Burdock, (sometimes called Gobo), is a root, like potatoes. It's an Eurasian plant, related to sunflowers and artichokes, and is an important part of traditional Asian and Mediterranean diets. Burdock has a nice, potato-like texture with a subtle artichoke flavor, but clocks in at only half the calories and a little over half the carbs. Bonus: it's been linked to clearer skin, kidney and liver heath, lymphatic and circulatory (blood health) support, and blood sugar management. 

Those large leaves are burdock. At the center, underground is the large root.

Burdock has been introduced to North America, where it now grows as an invasive species, a common "weed". If you've ever walked through the woods in early fall and gotten the sticky, spikey "burr" seed balls on your clothing, then you already know burdock. 

Low carb, keto, gluten-free lasagna made from edible curly dock weeds

Before I started formally foraging, I hit a mental wall. I was afraid to pick wild plants, not because I wasn't sure of my identification, my grandmothers had been teaching me since I was able to walk, but because I was afraid they would go to waste. I thought I didn't know how to cook wild greens. I saw some of the pros make amazing, gourmet meals entirely out of foraged ingredients, and I knew I could never do that.

But eventually I realized I didn't have to. Using foraged wild edible plants is easy. It doesn't need require a million crazy ingredients, expert techniques, or a lot of time. All you need to start foraging and eating is to make simple replacements in your day-to-day meals.

Pasta free lasagna is a favorite dish if you are trying to eat keto, low carb or gluten-free. It usually substitutes strips of zucchini or eggplant for the pasta, but on a whim I made an easy foraged substitution: curly dock leaves!

Vegetarian henbit, macadamia, and asiago pesto recipe. Keto, gluten-free, foraging recipe made with edible "weeds" of early spring

Pesto is one of the easiest and most common ways to prepare wild greens. But just because it's been done with some plants, doesn't mean it's the right way to prepare them.

I've seen, and tried, pesto for greens like chickweed, and I've been a bit disappointed. To me, chickweed tastes like a refreshing Boston or bibb lettuce. It's delicious, but would you make a lettuce pesto? Probably not. The taste of chickweed gets totally lost with spices and cheese and nuts.

Henbit, however, is perfect for pesto. It's like it wants to be pesto. It's rich, intense, herbal. . . the strong flavors really hold their own when blended with others. I feel like this pesto really hits the balance right. I opted for macadamia nuts, with their buttery creaminess to balance the punch of the henbit, and a small amount of sweet white onion -- instead of garlic -- to offset the slight bitterness of the greens.

I hope you try it and agree!

Burdock and curly dock dip recipe, vegetarian, gluten-free. Like spinach and artichoke, with foraged, edible weeds.

This was so much yum. . . of course, with this much cheese, it would be hard not to be. Do you like spinach and artichoke dip? I'm going to assume yes; I mean it's delicious. This is my wild, foraged riff on spinach and artichoke dip! 

Did you know that artichokes are part of the thistle family? The part we eat is the flower bud, if left unpicked, it would turn into a huge, spiky, purple flower.

Burdock is a related plant from Asia, where the root is eaten not just for food, but for health. It's great for the liver and kidneys. Burdock has been introduced here in the US, where it's become invasive, like it's friend curly dock.

Despite the similar name, the two plants aren't related, they just look similar. You also use them differently: curly dock is about the leaves.

And curly dock, a tender and flavorful green, with a subtly sour note, is super abundant here in Texas now.

Prolific growth of tender, healthy curly dock

In honor of the coming together of two docks, I christen thee: Double Dock Dip!

Florentine curly dock & ground beef pinwheels. Gluten free, keto, paleo optional

Curly dock is one of those plants which I historically categorized as being grossly overrated. Foragers go on and on about the succulent texture, the rich, slightly sour flavor, and the versatility. Meanwhile, I would turn my nose up at the bitterness, the stringiness, the coarseness, and the fact that it was a small, dirty plant, which frequented polluted areas. "No thanks!" I'd say, "None for me, I like my forage large, lush, full of flavor, no bitterness, and, above all, CLEAN!"

Well, then I moved to Texas and had to eat crow, because I discovered this:

Foraged purslane Okonomiyaki. Japanese "pizza" from invasive weeds. Vegetarian optional.

The rain finally came to Texas, and broke the breeze-less 100+ degree heat. With that kind of weather, I hadn't been seeing many edible wild plants, except for heat-loving purslane. Even purslane needs water though, and the plants were wilted, shrunken, and unappetizing.

All that changed with the rain. The purslane fleshed out, becoming plump and succulent. As I've mentioned before, up north I always found purslane in really gross locations--like the parking lot behind and auto repair shop. I never found "clean" plants in great abundance, not enough to run real culinary experiments with.

So I was really excited to finally have enough purslane to try some new dishes. This is my first one: an okonomiyaki, a Japanese street food. Okonomiyaki is sometimes called "Japanese Pizza" because, like pizza in America, it's a popular snack and quick meal food which can be customized with a wide variety of toppings.

My vegetarian okonomiyaki, with king oyster mushrooms

"Normal" okonomiyaki is made from cabbage, and uses a special flour, which has been thickened with rice or yam. It also contains seasonings, including dashi (made from fermented fish). I've never actually used that flour, I've just experimented with changing proportions to get the right thickness, and with spices commonly found in an American home.