A simple and delicious soup recipe that combines good-for-you greens and grains.

This soup is open to all kinds of experimentation. Try adding 2 cups or one 14- to 15-oz can beans, such as cannellini beans, chickpeas or romano beans, with the cooked grains. Or drop a Parmesan rind into the broth while the greens simmer and garnish with more freshly grated cheese. You can also use chopped onion, chopped celery and chopped carrot with or in place of the greens’ stems.



Ingredients

• 1 cup whole grains, such as quinoa, barley, farro, spelt, wheat berries, rye kernels or brown rice, rinsed
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 10 oz greens, such as chard, kale or spinach
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1 Place the grains and salt in a medium pot and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the grains are tender to the bite (from 15 minutes for quinoa to up to 60 minutes for rye kernels). Drain and set aside.

2 If using greens with thick stems like chard or kale cut the stems from the leaves. Trim the stems and finely chop them, then cut the leaves into thin ribbons; keep the stems and leaves separate. If using greens without thick stems, chop the leaves into ribbons or bite-sized pieces.

3 Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the stems (if using) and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth and cooked grains and bring just to a boil.

4 Add the greens, stir to combine and cook until wilted and tender, just 1 to 2 minutes for spinach, 5 minutes for chard and up to 10 minutes for kale. Season with salt and serve warm with a grind or two of pepper.

Serves: 4 to 5