Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear them in a Dutch oven over medium to high heat in olive oil until really well browned up. When you first place the chicken in the pan walk away from it for at least 5 minutes, then come back and test a piece if it pulls free with little resistance then flip the meat, if it is not easy to lift let it cook longer. Use the same method for the other side. Check the temp in the middle of your largest piece with a cooking thermometer the thighs are cooked when the internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Remove them from the pan and set aside to cool.

Add the diced onion, carrots, and chard to the pan leaving the heat pretty high, use a tiny bit of chicken broth if need to help you loosen the yummy browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat up on the veggies until they to have a tiny bit of brown on the edges, turn the heat down add the diced garlic and then let cook for about 2-3 more minutes before adding the rest of the broth and the white beans. Strip the meat off the chicken bones and into bite sized pieces, return the meat to the pot.

Allow the soup to simmer for as long as you would like from just 20 minutes to an hour or two. The longer it cooks the softer the beans will become and the thicker the soup will get. Right before you are going to serve turn the heat back up to a boil, add the orzo and the kale. Cook until the pasta is tender. Serve with a good olive oil for drizzling on top and some shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.