Daniella’s Orange Soup (Marak Katom)

DH and I have for the last three years or so, developed a routine of visiting each of our kids/grandkids once a week. It’s been amazing and has deepened all our relationships. I mention this since two sets of kids live in the same area and since we visit on a Friday, I often get a chance to see and sometimes taste test (yay) some of the goodies made for Shabbat.

A few weeks ago, I visited my son Yehuda and DIL Daniella and she had made a HUGE pot (Yehuda loves soup) of Orange Soup also known as Marak Katom. The orange is from the color of the soup, which is orange veggie based rather than on the fruit. As you may have guessed, I’m particular about my food and I really don’t care for sweet Marak Katom rather savory. She didn’t disappoint me, it was really perfect. When I asked for the recipe, she said, I don’t really have one – it’s just a little of this and a little of that. Hmmmm. Okay, that’s fine, just give me the basics.

She used carrot, pumpkin and sweet potato. She also shook in a little cumin. This was good enough for me to dive into.

So, I wasn’t in a carrot frame of mind, I love pumpkin and it’s low cal (what could be bad?) and I felt I needed sweet potato for texture to give more body to the soup. A note, if you can’t find pumpkin, you can definitely sub it out with carrots.

I also find that sauteed onion always adds depth to soup so I did that as well. I aslo added half a teaspoon of minced garlic (remember DH isn’t a garlic fan so it can only be a hint that he doesn’t feel or he won’t be a happy camper) but you could definitely increase to 1-2 teaspoons if you like. Don’t forget the cumin. Even if you are not a cumin fan in theory, in practice it’s like the garlic for DH. That is, it is not a huge amount and doesn’t overpower the flavor of the soup but adds a lovely flavor without you feeling it’s overwhelming in taste. You can skip it if you are making this for Passover.

Cut up the onion and saute in a little oil then cut all the veggies into chunks and add water to cover. I added the garlic after, not sauteing it since I wanted it’s flavor more subtle than pronounced.

I added pareve chicken soup powder, cumin and salt and left it to burble nicely on my back burner till soft, approximately 45 minutes (poke with a toothpick, you want it really soft).

Then I moved it off the fire, whipped out my immersion blender and zhuzhed it till a lovely orange puree. Taste it for seasoning to make sure it’s not undersalted. The great thing about this is it’s a thick (but not too) puree without the addition of any flour or cream and is nice and filling without being crazy caloric. Also, it’s really nice on a winter’s day.

Daniella’s Marak Katom

1 1/2 pounds (680) grams or 3 medium sweet potatoes 
3.3 pounds (1579 grams) or 2 large chunks of pumpkin

one medium onion, peeled and chopped fine

2-3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cumin (can be skipped for Passover)

2-3 heaping tablespoons pareve chicken soup powder

2 teaspoons salt

Chop the onion coarsely, put oil in a deep soup pot and put onion in. Put pot on low heat and in the meantime, prep the veggies by peeling and chunking them. Keep an eye the onions, they should only be light brown so they don’t get bitter. Remove from heat and toss in the chunked veggies. Add the garlic, cumin, soup powder and salt and pour in water to cover all the veggies. Bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and let cook quietly on your back burner for approximately 45 minutes or till fully soft and tender. Check with knife or toothpick . Remove from heat and take out your immersion blender. If you don’t have one, you can use a regular blender or even a food processor but you have to cool the soup first and blend it in batches. Zhuzh the soup with the immersion blender till a smooth puree is formed. Check seasonings and serve piping hot. If serving with a dairy meal, you can swirl in a bit of sour or sweet cream to enrich it but I like it just as is as well. Enjoy!