Truffled pumpkin soup
1 sugar pumpkin, (about 3 pounds) cut in half seeds and innards removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 star anise
1/8 stick cinnamon
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced and washed well
1 small onion thinly sliced
1/2 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 quart vegetable stock
1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 Cup Parmesan cream (see recipe below)
4 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon truffle oil
2 Tablespoon celery leaves
2 teaspoon thyme leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  
2. Season the pumpkin halves with salt and pepper.  Set them, cut side up, on a piece baking pan.  Put half a tablespoon each of butter and brown sugar in the squash and roast for an hour or until very soft and the flesh begins to caramelize.  Flip the pumpkins over, return to the bottom shelf of the oven and roast an additional 15 minutes to caramelize.  When cool, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
3. Put the star anise, cinnamon stick, thyme and lemon zest in a small piece of rinsed cheesecloth and tie into a bundle.
4. Heat the oil with the remaining butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the leek, onion, celery and carrot, season with salt and pepper and cook until they are tender and start caramelize, about 20 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low, add the ginger and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  
5. Add the pumpkin puree, the vegetable stock, spice sachet and cayenne. Simmer 20 minutes.
6. Remove and let cool slightly in pot.  Strain out the solids, discard the spice sachet and transfer the solids to a blender.  Puree until smooth, adding cooking broth as needed to keep the solids moving in the blender.  Pour into a clean pot and add the remaining cooking broth.  Heat through over low heat.  Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more stock or water if the soup seems too thick.  
7. In a small pot heat 1 cup of Parmesan cream over a low heat.  Do not boil.

Warm 4 bowls in a 200 degree oven for 5 minutes. Divide the cream equally among the bowls. Ladle about 1 cup of soup into each bowl. Garnish each bowl with 1 teaspoon honey, ¼ teaspoon truffle oil, celery leaves and picked thyme.

Parmesan Cream
1 1/2 Cups heavy cream
4 ounces parmesan rind

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the cream and rinds in a small pot.  Cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes or until the cream reduces by about 10 percent. Strain and cool.