A short list of ingredients and a whole lot of flavour. What’s not to love? This delectable soup hits all the right notes for early autumn. But then, I love all the recipes in Betty Rosbottom’s Sunday Soup. They’re divinely delicious.
The cookbook is from 2008; in today’s terms it’s an “oldie but goodie”. Available in paperback from used book sites through Amazon or on Kindle – either way, it’s a keeper.
Fall Brodo
This light but deeply satisfying soup is perfect for early fall evenings.
Lightly adapted from Sunday Soups by Betty Rosbottom.
- Yield: serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Acorn Squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4” cubes
- 12 oz Swiss Chard (red or green)
- 8 oz streaky bacon, cut into 1/2” pieces
- 1 1/2 c chopped onion (about 1 large)
- 8 c good quality chicken stock (I used Trader Joe’s)
- 1 c small Farfalle (bowtie pasta)
- kosher salt
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese (coarsely grated)
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the chard and pat dry. Remove the stalks. If the ribs are more than 1/2″ thick, slice them away from the leaves and discard. Coarsely chop the leaves.
- In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the bacon until crisp (3-4 minutes). Remove to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon fat. Return the pot to the heat and sauté the onions until golden brown (about 3 minutes).
- Add the stock and bring to a brisk simmer. Add the squash and farfalle and cook until just tender (13-15 minutes). Add the chard and cook until it wilts (1-2 minutes). Adjust seasonings.
- Serve immediately; pass separate bowls of bacon bits and Parmesan cheese for garnishes.
Notes
In the early fall, Acorn squash has a lovely, tender skin which is easy to remove with a vegetable peeler. Cut the squash lengthwise, remove the seeds and slice into sections as wide as the ribs before peeling. Butternut squash can be substituted, but the flavour won’t be as delicate.
- Category: Soup
Dear Helen,
Thanks for the reminder. My recipe box must have 100 soup recipes; I love it so. I usually use Hokkaido for this purpose, as I find acorns to be a bit watery. Perfect dinner for the shoulder fall days we’re having on the Silver Coast–70 and sunny but 50s at night. After finding storage for all the sets of dishes (frightening to see them all in one place!) and flattening the last unpacked cardboard box today, this will be a quick-and-easy meal for us. I always use homemade chicken stock, made with saved rinds of Parmigiano–I keep them in the freezer until needed. One of these days, try cutting down on the pasta and blitz Grana Padano (more subtle and lower fat) onto toasts for the top. TJ’s sells toasts like this for a pretty price, and they are so easy to make.
★★★★★
Congratulations on getting the last box unpacked. What a great feeling that must be! And yes, seeing all one’s china in one place can be a bit daunting. Once you get it put away, though, you can go back to polite, hazy oblivion. 🙂
I love the parmesan rind trick in stock. You are so right about the boost in flavour – it’s fabulous.
Here in Canada, our butcher makes stock; It’s as good as any I make, so we go that route. It’s a different matter in the Cape, though, especially with the summer-by-the-seaside orientation. Fish stock, yes, chicken stock, not so much! I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Trader Joe’s.
Sounds delish and so comforting. Just arrived on CC for the wknd to bring some stuff here from our cleanout in Ct. I’ll have to make this when we’re back in Ct where I get stock at Traders 5 min from our house. Wet and cold here with snow forecast tonight for inland Ma. JUST missing the Cape. Stay warm.
Oh – have fun (not the cleanout part). But have a wonderful beach walk and perhaps a lobster roll for us!
Yay Swiss chard!!
A delicious veg that never gets the glory like kale. My Mom always grew a big patch of chard in her garden. It was so good we ate it steaming hot with a sprinkle of red wine vinegar. Can’t wait to make this soup! Double Yay soup weather is here!!
★★★★★
I’m puzzled with the acclaim kale gets—much prefer Swiss chard. Enjoy the soup!