Secret Ingredient Pumpkin Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves
4 cups pumpkin puree (freshly cooked pumpkin works best, but canned is fine too)
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
black pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste

Preparation

Melt butter in large pot.
Add onion and celery and saute until soft but not brown.
Add tomato paste, bay leaves, pumpkin, and chicken broth; allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaf and our soup through a sieve set over a large enough bowl to catch soup.
Add cream to the strained soup and return to stockpot.
Bring to just under the boiling point, but DO NOT BOIL.
Reduce heat and allow to simmer 5 minutes.
Test seasonings and adjust salt, pepper to your liking, grating some fresh nutmeg over the soup to taste.