Roasted Onion, Leek, and Rainbow Chard Soup with Braised Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

-Chicken Thighs
​-3 Bushels of Rainbow Chard
-1 Leek
-5 Yellow Onions
​-1 Cup Chicken Broth
-3 Cups Vegetable Broth
-Salt & Pepper
-1 Lemon
​-Handful of Cilantro
​-5-7 Small Potatoes
​-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Slice yellow onions, so they look like onion rings, throw them in a sauté pan with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Cook on medium until onions brown and develop a golden crust.  Add salt and pepper.

​2. Prep the Crock Pot by putting it on a medium-high setting and add the chicken/vegetable broths.  Once onions are fully browned add them to the pot. 

​3.  Slice leeks into round disks, just like the onions, and sear them in the sauté pan.  They will brown up quickly, and add them to the Crock Pot. 

​4.  Wash the rainbow chard well, so it doesn't make the soup gritty.  Roughly chop the chard and add it to the soup. (It cooks down just like spinach)

​5.  Slice potatoes into discs and sauté in 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil until golden and crispy, add to soup
​Slice lemon, add juice to the soup.

​6. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, make sure the sauté pan is hot (medium to high) and sear them on both sides.  Cook them for about 3 minutes on each side then place them into the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until fully cooked through (no pink, and at least 165 degrees with meat thermometer)

​7. Simmer the soup in the Crock Pot for about 4 hours, until the rainbow chard has fully cooked down and is tender 

​8.  Add chicken and garnish with cilantro

Nutrition Info

This dish is gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, making it the epitome of an anti-inflammatory recipe!  In the past I have made a simple version of this soup with only the chard and chicken thighs; but I must admit this version is by far my favorite.  By searing and browning the onions, leeks, and potatoes you are infusing so much flavor into each of them that the end result is definitely restaurant quality.  The depth of flavors developed by vegetables alone will amaze you! 

​Leeks are something that everyone should add to their diet and this is why. 
When the leek stalk is cut or crushed the compounds convert to allicin. 

• Studies show that allicin reduces cholesterol. (It inhibits the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme in the liver cells)                                                 
• Allicin is also found to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities.
• Allicin reduces blood vessel stiffness, thereby reducing blood pressure.
  It also blocks platelet clot formation in the blood vessels, basically meaning that it helps decrease risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral vascular diseases (PVD), and stroke.
• Leeks are an awesome source of vitamins that are essential for optimum health. Their leafy stems indeed contain several vital vitamins such as pyridoxine, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin in healthy proportions.  Folic acid is essential for DNA synthesis and cell division.
• Additionally, leeks are one of the good sources of vitamin-A and other flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants such as carotenes, xanthin, and lutein. They also have some other essential vitamins such as vitamin C, K, and vitamin E.