Roasted Pumpkin Soup with a White Truffle Drizzle

From Chef Chris Douglas of Icarus Restaurant.  The Mrs. and I attended a gala the other night, and roasted pumpkin soup with white truffle was a passed hors d'oeuvre.  After tasting it, I was determined to find a simliar recipe and match it.  I've doctored this one a little bit - I needed it to be sweeter than the recipe provided for.

Ingredients:

Two Small Pumpkins – Cut in half and seeds/innards scraped out.
Salt
Pepper
2 Tablespoons plus 1 Cup Sugar – I used Splenda
Nutmeg
6 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Onions – Sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic – Minced
6 Cups of Water
1 Tablspoon of Sage
1 Cup of Cream
White Truffle Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and brush insides of pumpkins with butter.

Liberally sprinkle pumpkin flesh with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of nutmeg.

Roast pumpkins outer (round) side down for 45 minutes – half way through turn pumpkins over.

Remove pumpkins from oven and let cool.

While pumpkins are cooling, chop onions and sweat onions and garlic in remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch Oven.

Once pumpkins are cool enough to handle, peel flesh off and add to onion/garlic mixture. When I made this, the pumpkins literally fell out of their skins. Use a spoon to scrape the remaining pumpkin from the skins into the pot. Stir and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Puree mixture in a food processor. You’ll have to do this in batches. Return creamy mixture to pot and continue to simmer.

Add one cup of sugar/splenda and two more tablespoons of salt and stir. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add cream and adjust seasoning as you need it. I had to add extra nutmeg and splenda until I got the right flavor.

NOTE: This soup will seem bland/watery until you add the cream. It all comes together at that point.

Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil.