Ground beef and cabbage soup with pumpkin

There are days on this protocol when browning a pound of ground beef feels like 1 task too many. This soup does not ask for much beyond that. Once the meat is browned and the vegetables are in, the pot takes over, and by the time it is done, you have soup enough to carry you most of the week.

Beef is a genuine source of zinc, which supports immune regulation and gives the gut lining what it needs to hold together, worth paying attention to while you are working to calm an Autoimmune condition. The cabbage and pumpkin fill out the rest of the bowl. It is plain, dependable food, built to do real work without asking anything fancy of you.

Source the beef as well as you can. That is part of the care here too. Ladle it into a real bowl, sit down, and give it a few unhurried minutes. That is part of what makes it medicine, not just the zinc.

Ingredients

• Olive oil, for cooking
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 cups cabbage, roughly chopped
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 4 cups bone broth
• Salt to taste

Method

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef. Cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned all over with no pink remaining. Drain excess fat if needed.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion and celery. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent.

Add the carrots and cabbage. Stir everything together and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pour in the bone broth and pumpkin puree. Stir well to combine everything evenly. Season with salt. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover partially and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the vegetables are completely tender and the flavors have come together.

Taste and adjust salt before ladling into bowls.

Instant Pot variation

Set the Instant Pot to Saute on medium-high. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Brown the ground beef in batches if needed, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the onion and celery and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the carrots, cabbage, pumpkin puree, bone broth, and salt. Stir to combine. Turn off the Saute function. Secure the lid and set the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.

Quick-release the pressure when the cooking time is complete. Open the lid carefully, taste, adjust salt, and serve.

*Adapted from lichenpaleolovingaip.com*

***