Spinach is a wonder food. The silken leaves are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Through the magic of heat, a pillow-size bag of fresh spinach cooks down to a fistful. For those who crave the mineral tang, spinach in any incarnation is a pleasure. For others (namely children and stubborn adults), it's a green menace. However, as 19th-century food writer Grimod de la Reynière wrote, "Spinach is susceptible of receiving all imprints: It is the virgin wax of the kitchen." To help us make the most of this endlessly adaptable ingredient, we enlisted three chefs: Sara Moulton, Food Network host and cookbook author, who offers up a tempting Chicken Soup with Stars and Meatballs; Robert Stehling of Charleston, South Carolina's Hominy Grill, who whips up Spinach Potato Cakes with Roasted Tomato Sauce; and Jim Botsacos of New York City's Molyvos, who dreamed up a delicious spinach-and-cheese pie. Each child-tested
and -approved recipe is simple to prepare and so satisfying, everyone will ask for seconds.
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