Fall Vegetable Soup

A glorious aroma fills your kitchen. Peaking inside the pan you’ll find so many layers of color and flavor simmering in a rich stock. It’s a spectacular soup of butternut squash, Swiss chard, red bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic and rosemary along with layers of bacon and chicken sausage plus navy and cannellini beans. Bring on the cooler weather!

We all know that wonderful food can go a long way in feeding the body and soul. This soup lives up to and exceeds that reputation. Having a passion for food, there are not too many dishes I won’t try and don’t love. But honestly, vegetable soup was never one of my favorites as most I’d tried lacked any real flavor. Until I tasted this soup. As it begins to cook, the air is filled with a spectacular fragrance giving you a preview of what’s to come! This recipe makes a generous batch and as with any great soup, it gets better by the day. It’s loaded with Swiss chard, red bell pepper, sweet onion and garlic plus a pinch of red pepper flakes and rosemary all cooked alongside chicken sausage and bacon.

Chicken sausage comes in a variety of blends. I typically use two different types of sausage, one a tomato-basil chicken sausage along with a mild Italian chicken sausage, so use your favorite. (The Engineer is a meat-lover so there is always plenty of sausage in mine.)

For the butternut squash you can certainly use fresh but frozen organic squash is perfectly wonderful and great to keep on hand.

This is such a delicious way to renew your body and your soul!

Fall Vegetable Soup with Chicken Sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 slices bacon, diced

1-½ to 2 pounds chicken sausage (about 6 to 8 links), casings removed

1 large sweet onion, diced, about 1-¾ to 2 cups

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped, about 1 to 1-½ cups

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped, about 8 to 10 cups

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed

8 cups chicken stock, divided

2 packages cubed frozen butternut squash*, 10 ounces each, divided

1 can cannellini beans, 15-ounces, drained

1 can navy beans, 15-ounces, drained

1 large piece of Parmesan rind (These can be found in the cheese and deli section of most food markets.)

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon concentrated chicken base, such as Better Than Bouillon

¼ cup flour

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon, chicken sausage, onion, and bell pepper. Break up the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally until the sausage is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional five minutes.

Stir in the Swiss chard, kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and rosemary. Don’t be alarmed at the amount of Swiss chard in the soup, it will cook down. Continue cooking over medium heat until the Swiss chard has wilted.

Add 6 cups of the chicken stock, one package of the butternut squash, the cannellini beans, navy beans, Parmesan rind, bay leaves, and the concentrated chicken base. Partially cover the stockpot and cook for 30 minutes.

Combine ¼ cup flour with the remaining 2 cups chicken stock, mixing to dissolve any lumps. Slowly pour into soup and simmer on medium-low for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. Add the remaining package of butternut squash and cook until warmed through.

Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Makes 8 servings. *You can also use fresh butternut squash, you’ll need about 4 cups cubed.

Before chopping the Swiss chard, thoroughly wash the leave, then using a sharp knife cut out the thick stem that runs the length of the leaf.