AIP turkey stuffing stew - one-pot autumn stew with green plantain standing in for stuffing

Holiday food carries an outsized weight when you are deep in an elimination phase, and stuffing is one of the dishes people miss hardest, not for the bread itself but for what the smell of it means. This stew rebuilds that whole memory in a single pot: ground turkey, sage, a pinch of cinnamon, and diced green plantain that turns soft and starchy enough to stand in for bread cubes. You have held this protocol through months that included at least one holiday table you could not fully join. Tonight the smell in your kitchen gets to match the one in your memory.

Ground turkey is where the zinc in this bowl comes from, tied to how steadily your immune system regulates itself, and the bone broth simmering underneath is where the glycine and collagen come from too, amino acids your gut lining leans on as it repairs. Two systems, one pot, on a night when one pot is genuinely all the energy you have.

Crumble the bacon over each bowl, tuck in a little fresh parsley, and give the color on top a second look before the first bite. An animal and a garden fed this meal tonight. Noticing that costs you nothing, and it turns a bowl of stew into something closer to a small ceremony.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups homemade beef or poultry bone broth
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves minced
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• A pinch of cinnamon
• 2 green (unripe) plantains, peeled and diced small
• Crumbled cooked bacon, for serving
• Fresh parsley, for serving (optional)

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, parsnip, celery, salt, and bay leaf, and cook until softened and lightly caramelized, about 8 to 10 minutes. Lift out the bay leaf, then transfer the vegetables to a blender with the bone broth and blend until smooth. Set this base aside.

In the same pot, brown the ground turkey, breaking it into crumbles, along with the thyme, rosemary, dried parsley, sage, and the pinch of cinnamon. Once the turkey is cooked through, stir in the diced plantain and cook for a minute or two.

Pour the blended base back into the pot. Bring it to a gentle boil and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the plantain is tender and the stew has thickened.

While it simmers, crisp the bacon in a separate pan, then crumble it. Ladle the stew into bowls and finish each with crumbled bacon and a little fresh parsley.

Instant Pot variation

This is an easy one-pot dish to make in the Instant Pot. Set it to Saute and crisp the bacon first, then set it aside. Saute the onion, parsnip, and celery in the rendered fat until softened, then blend them with the broth as above and return to the pot. Brown the turkey on Saute with the herbs and cinnamon, add the diced plantain and the blended base, then seal and pressure cook on high for 8 minutes with a quick release. Stir, and finish with the crumbled bacon. The pressure time is taken from the source and has not been tested in the ARM kitchen, so check the plantain for tenderness before serving.

*Adapted from grazedandenthused.com*