I was taken out to lunch today to a place called La Zaza Trattoria. It was recommended that I have the whitefish that came in a light lemon sauce with capers, and a side of fire roasted spinach.

Both were excellent, but I was especially impressed with the fire roasted spinach. It has a slight smoky taste and I could see a few charred spots here and there. Each individual leaf still had texture, but it was definitely not crunchy. It was flavored with garlic, salt, and olive oil and/or butter from what I could tell.

I was so impressed I asked the waiter how they prepare it. They must get asked a lot because he said it was a Zaza's secret. I asked him again later and he still wouldn't say.

OK, not a big deal. I will just do a Google search and find 1,000 recipes. The search "fire roasted spinach" returns exactly two results, and both from the same web site; and they are not recipes.

I think I will buy some fresh spinach and give it a try.

I think if I just put fresh dry spinach on the grill it would dry up and burn.

I think I will try soaking the leaves in ice water for a while and then tossing them on a hot grill. I think I will also try tossing the leaves in olive oil first and then grilling.

I will add garlic, salt, and seasoning, etc. after I remove it from the grill.

If anyone nearby wants to try it and see if they can come up with a recipe, the address is:

La Zaza Trattoria
5 South First Street
St Charles, IL 60174