Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish [I USE COCONUT OIL INSTEAD. IT IS A HEALTHIER COOKING OIL AND MAKES IT TASTE RICHER & MORE UMAMI. Unrefined coconut oil tastes and smells coconutty, while the refined coconut oil does not taste nor smell. Both are healthy high temperature oils and either will work well in this recipe. Save the olive oil for garnish & dipping bread in.]
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons plus 3 cups water, divided
• 1/4 cup arborio rice (the kind used to make creamy risotto)
• GREENS.  Aim for 1.75 –  2 pounds total, which is:
  • one (=~1/2#) bunch of KALE.  I recommend the Dino/Lacinato variety, which has more slender & darker leaves than the frilly kinds. It has the most nutrition of any kind of kale. Here is a nice article about the amazingness of Kale.
  • one (=~1/2#) bunch of CHARD (stems removed) or BEET GREENS
  • and ~14 cups  (=~3/4#) gently packed SPINACH leaves (tough stems removed).  For price and convenience, I recommend buying a bag of frozen spinach, which at my co.op comes already in the needed 12oz size, without any tough stems included.
• 4 cups vegetable broth, store-bought or homemade [I USE CHICKEN BROTH, WHICH AGAIN MAKES IT TASTE RICHER AND MORE UMAMI.]
• Big pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a generous 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water and cover. Cook, stirring frequently until the pan cools down, and then occasionally, always covering the pan again, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 to 30 minutes. [They basically turn into onion jelly, and add a lovely deep flavor to the soup.]
3. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 3 cups water and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a soup pot or Dutch oven; add 1/4 cup arborio rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Trim the central rib out of the chard and kale leaves.
   
5. Coarsely chop the thicker chard and kale greens.
6. Coarsely chop the spinach leaves [if using fresh] and leave in a separate pile from the other greens. [If using frozen, you can skip this step and just be ready to open the bag and empty the contents into the pot later.]
7. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, stir in the chard and kale greens. Return to a simmer; cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
8. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little water or some of the simmering liquid into them, loosening the scrapings on the bottom of the pan;
9. To the pot of rice/kale/chard add the onions, 12 oz. spinach, 4 cups broth and the big pinch of cayenne.
10. Return to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring once, until the spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more.
11. Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth (or carefully use a regular blender and do it in batches). Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice, if desired. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of olive oil.
12. FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS SOUP!