In Jerusalem, “Orange Soup” (Marak Katom, or מרק כתום), made with a mixture of sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash, is very popular at this time of year. When I was at the market last week buying ingredients for orange soup, I also noticed some beautiful purple potatoes and, nearby, packages of carrots like jewels, ranging from butter yellow to crimson to dark purple. Prior to the vendor realizing I was buying the ingredients for orange soup, he tried to convince me to buy the purple potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes. He had a recipe in mind, too, and suggested that I consider making mashed purple potatoes. A nearby customer even joined in to say that they are delicious with a little bit of thyme and date syrup. “You won’t regret it!” she said. Once the vendor realized my intention for the sweet potatoes, however, he raised his palms toward me, tipped his head slightly, and said something to the effect of “Oh, well, okay, in that case!” Orange soup is the kind of recipe that everyone makes in their own slightly different way but, at the end of the day, orange soup is orange soup and it’s not to be messed with.

But that got me thinking about the gorgeous purple potatoes. I went back the other day, bought a mix of purple vegetables, and made my first attempt at a purple version of Orange Soup. If you cannot find purple potatoes, I would choose two white potatoes and one large orange potato. If you cannot find purple carrots (which is understandable), I would use three orange carrots. My thinking here is that the deeply pigmented beets will paint all the other vegetables and while the soup won’t be quite as purple as the one I made, it will still be plenty purple. Here is my recipe for Purple Soup (Marak Segol, or מרק סגול).

Once the soup has cooled for a little while, use an immersion blender to blend the contents of the pot until all the vegetables are blended and the soup texture is relatively smooth. Stir in coconut creme, taste, add a little more salt if desired, and serve with your choice of garnish.

*If you have time to cook the beets in advance, I recommend boiling them for 45 minutes until the sharp point of a knife passes through easily. Then turn off the heat, and allow them to cool completely, even overnight if that works best. This way, the peels will literally slide off, and save you a ton of work. Then you can proceed with cubing, and add them straight to the soup pot.