Every year, the time comes when the urge to make soup grows stronger. Maybe it’s because children are back in school, and nourishing family meals seem even more important. Or that the days are noticeably growing shorter, and there’s an occasional hint of crispness in the air.

Whatever the reason, now is the time when big soup pots migrate to the stovetop, just begging to be filled with robust soups.

My favorite soup ingredient is probably dried beans. They’ve been a staple of so many cultures for good reason. As the peak growing season for fresh produce ends, dried beans are still there, easy to store for many months. They are packed with nutrients, full of earthy, satisfying flavor and texture.

Best of all, beans provide a perfect canvas for creative cooks. They’re a great flavor carrier, and by selecting whatever other ingredients you want to add, you can easily give a bean soup a Latin American personality, or Moroccan, Italian or Asian.

You can prepare them vegetarian style, using vegetable broth or water as the main cooking liquid. Or add your favorite protein, especially in the form of smoked or salt-cured products such as pancetta, chorizo, andouille sausage, smoked pork shank or turkey thigh.

It’s important to remember to soak the beans first.

My final secret for a delicious bean soup is the other vegetables you add to it toward the end of cooking. I like classic aromatics like celery, onion, leek and garlic, which I saute separately to develop their flavor before adding them to the beans. And ribbons of Swiss chard leaves, briefly wilted in the soup before serving, add more color, texture and flavor.

White Bean Soup with Pancetta and Swiss Chard

Makes 8 to 12 servings

1 pound dried white beans

3/4 pound unsliced pancetta

2 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen string

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 organic celery stalks, cut into small dice

1 medium-sized yellow onion, cut into small dice

1 medium-sized leek, trimmed, split lengthwise, thoroughly washed, and cut into small dice

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup dry white wine

3 ounces white wine vinegar

6 cups organic chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3/4 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 pound Swiss chard leaves, cut crosswise into strips 1/2 inch wide

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. The night before you plan to make the soup, sort through the beans, removing any misshapen beans, stones or debris. Rinse beans under cold running water. Put them in a mixing bowl and add enough cold water to cover by about 3 inches. Leave to soak overnight at room temperature.

2. About 2 hours before serving, cut 1/2 pound of pancetta into 1/2-inch dice, and set aside in the refrigerator.

3. Drain the beans thoroughly. Put them in a pot, add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches, and add remaining whole piece of pancetta along with thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low, and cook until beans are barely tender, 1 to 11/2 hours. Set aside.

4. In a separate soup pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the reserved diced pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour off about half of the fat from the pot. Add celery, onion, leek and garlic to the pot with the pancetta dice, and cook over medium heat until the onion turns translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, add wine and vinegar, and boil until liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes more.

5. Meanwhile, drain cooked beans, discarding the chunk of pancetta and the thyme sprigs. Put half of the beans in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade and pulse them until pureed.

6. Add the whole and pureed beans to the vegetable mixture along with broth, parsley and thyme leaves. Stir well. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the whole beans are tender and soup is thick, about 15 minutes longer. Season to taste.

7. A few minutes before serving, stir in the strips of Swiss chard. Continue cooking just until they have wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

8. Ladle soup into bowls, top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.