Redeeming Green Soup

Adapted from Cookie and Kate.

Our love affair with soup continues with this Redeeming Green 🌿 Soup with Lemon 🍋 and Cayenne 🌶 pepper.

It's light, fresh, and packed with incredible nutrition 💪🏻 1 pound of Kale 🌿, 12 ounces of fresh Spinach 🍃, seasoned with onion, lemon and a touch of cayenne pepper.  

This soup will give your body a healthy jolt ⚡️of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to keep your immune system strong 💪🏻 and kicking this holiday season. 

We served it over basmati rice for extra heartiness and a dollop of vegan sour cream for good measure.

INGREDIENTS: 
Serves 6

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons plus 3 cups water, divided
• ¼ cup brown rice, rinsed
• 1 large bunch kale, preferably organic (about 1 pound)
• 14 cups gently packed spinach or baby cooking greens, like chard, preferably organic (about 12 ounces)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• Big pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste (I used over ¼ teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
• Serve with basmati rice and tofutti sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. First prepare the greens: Remove the ribs from the chard/kale and discard or save them for another recipe. Coarsely chop or tear the kale leaves. Trim any tough stems from the spinach/baby greens and roughly chop the leaves.
2. Caramelize the onion: Heat 2 tablespoons water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water and cover the skillet (I used a baking sheet to cover mine). Cook until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 minutes. Stir frequently while the pan is still hot and occasionally once the pan has cooled down (always re-cover the pan after stirring).
4. Cook the brown rice: While the onions are cooking, combine the remaining 3 cups water and ¾ teaspoon salt in a soup pot. Add rice and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
5. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, stir in the kale. Return to a simmer; cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little of the simmering liquid into them, then add the onion mixture to the rice along with the spinach/cooking greens, broth and cayenne. Return to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring once, until the spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more.
7. Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth or in a regular blender in batches. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice, sea salt or cayenne pepper, if desired. 
8. Divide the soup into bowls if you’re serving it as a bisque, or serve in bowls over cooked basmati rice topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!