Butternut Rice with Beef and Nut-Free Pesto: a whole bowl in 25 minutes

Some nights the win is simply getting a complete meal on the table fast. This one comes together in about 25 minutes and lands as a full bowl: protein, a vegetable base standing in for grain, and a bright green sauce that tastes like more work than it is.

The pesto is where this dish quietly earns its place. Basil and parsley carry polyphenols and the fiber that feeds the gut community, and the olive oil makes their fat-soluble compounds easier to absorb. The beef is one of the best dietary sources of zinc, which is involved in immune regulation and gut barrier repair, and the butternut adds beta-carotene, a precursor the body uses to make vitamin A, which supports mucosal and immune health.

There is an animal behind this beef, and the way to honor it is to use it well and eat it with attention. A green-flecked bowl, the pesto spooned over warm rice and meat, is worth plating with a little care.

Ingredients

For the bowl:

• 4 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash
• 1.5 lb grass-fed ground beef (pork or lamb also work)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice
• unfortified nutritional yeast (a reintroduction item; omit on strict elimination)

For the nut-free basil pesto:

• 2 cups packed fresh basil
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves (omit for SIBO or low-FODMAP layering)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Method

• Shred the cubed butternut in a food processor fitted with the shredder blade to make the 'rice'. Set it aside and wipe out the bowl.
• Heat a large skillet over high. Add the salted ground beef and brown it, breaking it up as it cooks, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the butternut rice and the bone broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook about 2 minutes, until the rice is tender.
• Uncover and let it reduce until most of the liquid is gone. Take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
• For the pesto, blend the basil, parsley, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and salt in the food processor until finely minced.
• Bowl up the beef and butternut rice, top with the pesto, and add a little unfortified nutritional yeast if you tolerate it. (a reintroduction item; omit on strict elimination)

*Adapted from grazed-and-enthused*