The EASIEST Stew in the WORLD! (AIP Friendly)

Tags

AIP, Alcohol Free Stew, Autoimmune Protocol, Beef, Braised Beef, Easy Beef Stew, Hearty Meal, Stew, Winter Warmer

It’s officially autumn – or fall – in this corner of the world. And that means we can start thinking about warming food. Food like stews and casseroles! Slow cooked numbers that fill the house with comforting aromas as they work their magic over an afternoon in the oven. My favourite kinds of food…

This number is 100% AIP compliant.

Not even a drop of wine in this baby. Traditionally, a good hearty stew will have a healthy dose of red wine. And, technically that is allowed on the protocol – the alcohol will be cooked off.

But this recipe doesn’t even have that. Mainly, because LM isn’t all that fond of alcohol. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say, alcohol isn’t so fond of LM.

So, this is a tee-totalling stew, too!

TSL’s Tee-totalling Stew…!
(Image by LM for TSL)

Stew’s so comforting on a rainy day.
(Dodie Smith, ‘I Capture the Castle’)

The best thing about a good stew is that it really is a doddle to make. Simply brown your meat, sauté some veggies, throw in some good quality bone broth or stock and some aromatics, pop it into your oven and walk away. Its that simple.

So simple that even a non-cook can make a great stew!

And, I know I’m always banging on about doubling a recipe or cooking once to eat twice or thrice, but I’m going to say it again. Especially here, when making a stew. Because as with a good Ragu Bolognese, it’s just as easy to cook a large portion of stew and freeze leftovers for those days you just don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen. So, to make your life SUPER easy, this recipe is enough to comfortably feed 6 already…

Easy Stew with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Homemade Sauerkraut
(Image by LM for TSL)

This really is the easiest stew recipe. And, because it is so easy, it’s also a great one to experiment with. Feel like adding mushrooms? Or perhaps some parsnip? Maybe you don’t have rosemary handy and want to use a different herb? Or, you have some lamb in your meat locker instead of beef (in which case, can I suggest some mint?)… The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Go forth and make stew!

The Easiest Stew in the World

• Servings: 6 generously
• Time: 4 hours
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1.5 kilos diced chuck steak/braising beef
1 1/2 x Tablespoons tapioca flour
fat of choice
3 x red onions. peeled and roughly chopped
4 x carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 x celery sticks, roughly chopped
5 x cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 x Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Zest of one orange
4 x sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
800mls bone broth

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 180° C/ 350°F.

2. Coat your diced beef in tapioca flour. I find the best way to do this is to take a large plastic bag. Pop your meat and flour into the bag. Seal and roll it all around until the meat is covered.

3. Pop a heavy bottomed casserole dish over a medium-high heat (I use my le Creuset) and add a little fat. Brown your meat in batches, setting aside in a bowl as each batch is nicely caramelised.

4. When your meat is all browned and set aside, add a little more fat to the pan. Gently sauté the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary and orange zest until softened. Add the apple cider vinegar to the pan and give everything a good stir.

5. Add the bone broth and a good pinch of salt.

6. Bring to a gentle boil, pop on a lid and place into the oven for three hours.

7. The meat should now be meltingly tender! Check for seasoning before discarding the rosemary stalks.

8. Serve!

E N J O Y !

This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable

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WORLD FAMOUS Super-Power Chicken Soup

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Best Chicken Soup Recipe, Chicken Soup, Comfort Food, Healthy Soup, Immune Boosting Soup, Paleo, Winter Warmer

 

(Image by TSL)

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here.

The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff. (Britney Spears)

I think I mentioned making my world-famous-at-Casa-TSL chicken soup for my sister last week. It’s a bit of a winner because it tastes good AND is chock-full of super-power boosting nutritional goodness. Especially good when you feel a little under the weather. And, at this time of the year (down here, anyway) this soup is a great preventive measure against the winter sniffles.

There’s a reason chicken soup has reached cult status around the world, but perhaps most famously with Jewish mamas. It is the ultimate comfort food when made from scratch for someone you love. I made it for my sister after her return from hospital (although I’m a little surprised she had any room for soup after scoffing down all those gingerbread men…!) But, even making the soup for someone gives you a feeling of warmth and love. Amazing how food can do that…

While this recipe seems a little longer than my usual numbers, the process is very simple. The first stage is making the base stock (which can be prepared in advance) followed by throwing all the ingredients together for the soup. This is best done just before eating because there are a number of fresh ingredients (like garlic, ginger and turmeric) full of immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory goodness.

Gotta say – this is a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a wintry weekend afternoon, too. And, your home will smell amazing!

• Servings: 6
• Time: 2 hours
• Difficulty: easy-peasey
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Ingredients

For your base stock:
1 x whole happy chicken (mine was 1.3 kilos)
2 x large onions, finely chopped
1 x large carrot, cut into three pieces
1 x large stick of celery, cut into three pieces
The finely chopped stalks of one bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 x teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 x Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
A small handful of wakame, or other sea vegetables (optional*)

For your soup:
2 x litres of chicken stock
2 x cups chicken meat, shredded
2 x stalks celery, finely diced
1 x large carrot, finely diced
1 x leek, halved and finely sliced
4 x  cloves garlic, minced
2 x teaspoons ginger, finely grated
1 x teaspoon fresh turmeric, finely grated
1 x bunch flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped (Use the tops of the stalks you put in the stock)
1/2 x bunch coriander, finely chopped
1 x Tablespoon coconut oil or lard
generous seasoning of sea salt and pepper

Method

For your base stock:

1. Pop your chicken in a large stock pot, with the veggies, herbs, vinegar and sea vegetables. Cover with cold filtered water.

2. Bring to the boil and then immediately reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Cook for 90 minutes. When the meat starts to separate easily from the bone, your chicken is cooked.

3. Remove the carrot and celery pieces and discard. Carefully remove the bird from the stock.

4. Once cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone. You’ll need a generous couple of cups for the soup. Any leftover shredded chicken can be popped straight into the fridge. Either discard the bones or keep for further stock.

5. You’ll need a couple of litres of stock for the soup. Any leftover can be popped straight in the fridge or freezer for other cooking.

For your soup:

6. Heat your fat in the bottom of a largish pot. Add your finely diced celery, carrot, leek and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

7. Pour in your stock and add the chicken meat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Your vegetables should still have a little crunch, but be cooked through.

8. Add the garlic, turmeric and ginger. Simmer for another minute or two. Season generously with sea salt. Taste for seasoning.

9. Remove the pot from the heat and stir through the coriander and parsley. Serve immediately.

E N J O Y !

* Wakame is my favourite sea vegetable (sea weed). It is naturally high in iodine. I add it to soups, stocks and braises.

 

The Galloping Gourmet’s Trans-Tasman Root Vegetable Soup Competition…

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Best Vegetable Soup, Dairy Free, Graham Kerr, Paleo, Soup, The Galloping Gourmet, vegetarian, Winter Warmer

(Original image sent by TSL’s Dad. Copy from Graham Kerr’s cookbook)

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my all time FAVOURITE root vegetable soup from my childhood. My Mum used to make it. It was a Graham Kerr recipe. And, I didn’t actually have the recipe to hand when I was wanting to make it, so I ‘approximated’ using a bit of this and a dash of that. To be honest, I was pretty happy with the outcome. It wasn’t exactly the soup of my childhood, but it was thick and creamy and made me feel good… I was very happy with it.

And, then my father got involved.

Dad lives in New Zealand. He is a big fan of this wee blog. He reads every post. And, while he doesn’t always comment, he often tries my recipes and gives me his verdict. He’s a pretty fab’ Dad, really. My four-hour lamb is now his ‘new signature dish’! Dad and I compare notes on our Healthy Ice Cream flavour experiments (I love the sound of his feijoa and ginger version). And naturally, he and Mum tested my take on the root vegetable soup and, while they liked it, Dad said it wasn’t quite as good as the original.

That particular post actually generated quite the discussion amongst my immediate family. Clearly, just the thought of that soup brings back so many memories for us all.

And, just to prove his point, Dad sent my sister and me a copy of the original recipe from Graham Kerr’s circa 1967 ‘Galloping Gourmet’ cookbook (which, if you’re interested, is older than me!)

The Graham Kerr Cookbook (circa 1967) – very Don Draper!
(Image by TSL)

So, of course, I had to make the original soup (only, mine was adapted to fit the Autoimmune Protocol).

And, as much as it pains me to admit it, I think Dad was right. As good as my soup is, it’s not the original. And, when it comes to childhood memories, the original is what counts.

It is worth noting that LM – who does not have the same childhood memories – favours my version. It is entirely possible that he is a smidge biased… I’ll let you be the judge!

The original BEST Root Vegetable Soup

• Servings: 5-6
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: easy-peasy
• Print

(Image by TSL)

Adapted from the Graham Kerr recipe

Ingredients

1 x Tablespoon fat (I used lard)
340g carrots, peeled and chopped
170g kumara (sweet potato), peeled and chopped
170g parsnips, peeled and chopped
230g onions, peeled and chopped
3 x cloves garlic
860 mls chicken bone broth (substitute with vegetable stock for a vegetarian option)
Salt
10 x Black peppercorns
5 x Bay-leaves
1 bunch parsley
5 sprigs thyme
230 mls Coconut milk

Method

1. Throw your fat into a large pot. Melt over a medium heat.

2. Add chopped vegetables and sweat for five minutes (I use a timer).

3. Add the bone broth, herbs, peppercorns and season generously with salt.

4. Bring to the boil. Pop on the lid and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for twenty minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

5. Remove the herbs. Carefully purée your mixture (in batches) in your blender. Add the coconut milk as you blend.

6. Taste for seasoning and serve with freshly chopped parsley as a garnish.

E N J O Y !

And, the first person to let me know, via a comment here or on the ‘This Sydney Life’ Facebook page, which soup they prefer (and why!) wins a prize. Immediate family members are not eligible!

Shared on the Phoenix Helix AIP Recipe Round Table