AIP fruited chicken stew with butternut squash, apple juice, and raisins

Some nights the elimination phase feels like a long list of no. This stew just wants to be warm, a little sweet from the apple juice and raisins, and different from last week's dinner. That is enough on a hard night.

The broth in this stew has simmered long enough to trade glycine into the liquid, and that amino acid is part of the ordinary material a body works with over time, not something one dinner can prove out. The squash and celery are doing something simpler: giving the bowl texture and a reason to feel like real dinner instead of one more careful exercise in eating. Not every ingredient needs its own mechanism to earn a place at the table.

Let the raisins plump in the last few minutes, taste before reaching for more salt, and eat this one without any guilt about the sweetness. Some nights, a little sweetness is exactly the kindness dinner is for.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1.25 lbs chicken tenderloins, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 cups chopped butternut squash
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 4 cups chicken broth (clean-label, AIP-compliant)
• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1 TBSP arrowroot starch
• 1 TBSP water
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• Optional garnish: lemon wedges to squeeze over each serving

Method

Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat with a splash of cooking fat or water and soften the sliced onions for a few minutes until they turn translucent. Add the chicken pieces and let them cook until they lose their pink color on the outside, stirring now and then so they brown evenly.

Stir in the chopped celery and butternut squash, then season with the sea salt and dried thyme. Pour in the chicken broth and the unsweetened apple juice. Bring everything up to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer, partly covered, until the squash is fork-tender and the chicken is cooked through, roughly 25 to 35 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot starch into the tablespoon of water until smooth. Stir this slurry into the simmering stew and let it cook another minute or two; the broth will thicken slightly into a glossier body. Add the raisins and the fresh lemon juice, stir, and let the raisins warm through for a couple of minutes so they plump.

Taste and adjust the salt. Serve warm, with a lemon wedge on the side if you want a brighter finish.

Instant Pot variation

Use the Saute function to soften the onions and lightly cook the chicken, then add the celery, squash, salt, thyme, broth, and apple juice. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for about 8 to 10 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before a quick release. Switch back to Saute, stir in the arrowroot slurry to thicken, then add the raisins and lemon juice and warm through. The pressure-cook time is an estimate and has not been tested, so check the squash and adjust on your next batch.

Notes

The source recipe is built as a slow-cooker stew and is AIP elimination-compliant as written. No swaps were needed. Confirm your chicken broth and apple juice are clean-label with no added nightshade spices, sugar, or other non-compliant ingredients. Servings are estimated at 4 to 6 because the source does not state a yield.

*Adapted from wendisaipkitchen.com*