Pumpkin Soup

When I made this I was surprised it was so light in color and not dark orange as I had expected. For so few ingredients, this soup is very tasty!

1 small cooking pumpkin
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 T. fresh sage, minced or 1 tsp. rubbed sage
2 c. or 1 can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth*
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Cut pumpkin in half, seed and place, cut side down on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350º about 1 hour or until skin can be easily pierced with a fork. With a spoon, scoup out the pumpkin from the skin and set aside.
2. In a kettle, sauté onion, celery and sage in the butter and oil until tender. Stir in broth and pumpkin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly.
3. In a blender, puree` soup in batches, return to pot and heat through. season to taste. If soup is too thick for you, add more broth.
4. Serve with seasoned croutons.
* If a vegetarian, use vegetable broth.