I can tell autumn has arrived when I’m welcomed by a chill when I go downstairs in the morning to open the windows; when I fish out my heavier scarves from the wardrobe to protect myself from the cold wind; when apples, pears, chestnuts, mushrooms, and squashes begin to crowd the market stalls. But most importantly, I know autumn has truly arrived when I find myself craving soup every other night. I might make a simple vegetable minestrone, a thick and creamy chickpea and pumpkin soup, a clear chicken broth speckled with tiny pastina, or a hearty barley and cabbage soup hailing from the Alps. If summer is all about the salads, fall is when soups make their glorious return to home kitchens and trattorias alike. To quote the writer Laurie Colwin, from “Home Cooking”: “There is nothing like soup. It is by its nature eccentric: no two are ever …