AIP harvest vegetable soup - root vegetables, squash and ground beef in broth, AIP Core seed-free

8 servings from one pot means one long chopping session instead of 5 smaller ones spread across a week, a fair trade when your energy tends to show up in one big block rather than a little each day. Parsnips, squash, mushrooms, kale, a pear you would not expect in a savory soup: it is a real pile of vegetables to get through on the cutting board, but everything after that is just a simmer you can walk away from.

Butternut squash gets its color from carotenoids the body can convert, one path toward vitamin A, which plays a role in immune regulation, and ground beef is a source of iron and zinc, minerals a body running an immune system this hard tends to burn through. Together with the broth, it is a bowl doing several jobs at once instead of just one.

Freeze what you do not eat this week in single portions, and let tonight's effort be the reason 3 or 4 nights later ask nothing of you at all. That is worth the extra cutting board.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons solid cooking fat
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bunch celery, ends removed, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
• 6 cups bone broth
• 6 cups water
• 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
• 4 parsnips, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric root
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 firm pear, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced

Method

Warm the cooking fat in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the sea salt and cook another minute, until fragrant.

Pour in the bone broth and water. Add the parsnips and the turmeric, bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a simmer.

While the soup heats, brown the ground beef in a separate skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once it is browned through, add it to the pot.

Add the butternut squash and the pear to the simmering soup. Cook until the squash and parsnips are tender when pierced, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Stir in the mushrooms, tarragon and kale. Simmer a few more minutes, until the kale wilts and the mushrooms soften. Finish with the lemon juice off the heat, taste, and adjust the salt.

Instant Pot variation

Saute the onion, celery and garlic on the Saute setting, then add the broth, water, parsnips, squash, pear and turmeric. Brown the beef separately and add it in. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for about 10 minutes, then quick release. Stir in the mushrooms, tarragon and kale on Saute until the greens wilt, then finish with lemon. Treat this timing as a starting point and adjust after a test.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com*