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1
Cut the pumpkin or squash in half and scrape out all the seeds and stringy material with a large metal spoon.
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2
Put them in a pot with the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, simmer for 25 minutes, and then strain.
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3
Preheat the oven to 400F.
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4
Bake the pumpkin or squash halves, face down, on a lightly oiled baking sheet until the skin is wrinkled and the flesh is soft, about 1 hour.
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5
Remove them from the oven and, when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin.
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6
Reserve any caramelized juices that may have collected on the pan.
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7
Melt the butter in a soup pot, add the onion, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
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8
Add the cooked pumpkin, the juices, if any, the salt, and 6 cups of the stock.
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9
Bring to a boil; then simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.
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10
Pass the soup through a food mill, which will smooth it out while leaving some texture.
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11
Return the soup to the pot and add the cream and more stock, if necessary, to thin it.
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12
Taste for salt and season with the freshly ground white pepper.
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13
Stir in the grated cheese and serve the soup with the thyme leaves scattered over it.
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14
Variation: Another way to make this soup is to bake pumpkins with the cream and the cheese inside their hollowed-out shells.
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15
The cooked flesh is scraped into the hot cream and melted cheese and served right from the pumpkina satisfying and fun way to cook and eat.
