1/4 cup butter
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup lentils
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup half-and-half

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally with a mixing spoon, until golden, about 3-5 minutes. Add lentils, chicken stock, pumpkin puree, marjoram, thyme and pepper. Cover pan and simmer about 1 hour, or until lentils are tender.

Turn off stove, move saucepan to cool burner and remove lid to allow soup to cool. Once cool, pour soup into a food processor or blender and puree. If all the soup won't fit into the blender, puree in batches. After soup has been pureed, return to saucepan, stir in half-and-half and reheat over medium heat. To serve, pour into hollowed pumpkin shell or soup tureen.

Makes 6 servings.