Roasted Chicken Soup

Lately, I've been on the hunt for: a) healthy, not-bland comfort food recipes, and b) any excuse to use my immersion blender (Read: best Christmas gift ever. The words "working one batch at at time, blend..." always struck fear in my heart because I knew I was in for a goopy disaster and lots of dirty dishes, albeit a deliciously creamy result. No more! I'm not much of a gadget person, but I'm pretty sure everyone should have one of these. You can even whip cream with it, and all you have to do is rinse the blade when you're done! All right, shameless plug over.)

Hence, an invention: Roasted Chicken Soup with Beans and Greens.

This recipe makes one large pot. None of this "serves two" business. Because I firmly believe that if you're going to go to the trouble of making soup, you should have enough left over for a few lunches in the fridge and two containers in the freezer for reserves (one for an emergency rainy-day dinner, and one for when you hear that your friend is sick. Just don't forget to date the containers! They keep for 3 months.).

gather.
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, chopped and rinsed well
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 14 ounce cans white beans, drained
2 14 ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
¼ cup parsley, chopped
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
6 oz baby spinach leaves
8 oz chopped kale, tough stems removed
Grated Parmesan cheese

prepare.
Preheat oven to 450.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, leeks, 4 cloves of garlic, celery, and carrots and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add 5 cups of broth, along with all the beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer, covered, until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

meanwhile:
Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Roast, basting occasionally with broth (about 1 cup total), for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly golden. Cool and shred chicken.

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a separate (medium-sized) pot over medium heat. Add kale and 2 cloves garlic and sauté until kale turns bright green. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and steam for 10 minutes. (I like to cook the kale and chicken separately because they are way more flavorful that way.)

assemble.
Remove soup base from heat and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add kale and chicken (along with all the juices from both), parsley, and spinach. Over low heat, stir until spinach wilts. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with grated parmesan for sprinkling.