With cooler temperatures and most of our leaves on the ground, my palate turns to seasonal, but healthy comfort food. My son has been begging me for a thick stew, so I turned to root vegetables and put together a hearty Fall stew that is easy to make, healthy, and paleo-friendly. Swapping in butternut squash instead of potatoes gives this stew a slightly sweet and rich flavor. You can make this vegetarian, or with a good red meat. I used elk meat, which is obviously grass-fed and organic, and extremely lean and flavorful. It was delicious!

Here is my recipe for Fall harvest stew. This recipe incorporates two great techniques I learned from reading Cook’s Country magazine, from America’s Test Kitchen:

1. Allowing the vegetables to cook separately from the meat in the slow cooker prevents them from turning to mush. You accomplish this by simply placing the veggies in a sealed foil packet atop the meat.
2. Use tapioca pearls as an excellent thickener for the stew. It works better than flour or corn starch, and is a paleo-friendly alternative.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb. elk, venison, or grass-fed beef
3 TBS coconut oil
2 large onions, diced
3 cloves garlic (more if you love garlic), smashed
1 small can tomato paste
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
3 TBS coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
2 bay leaves
1 TBS dried thyme
1 TBS rosemary
1/2 lb. parsnips cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 lb. carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small butternut squash cut into 1-inch pieces
1 leek
2 TBS tapioca
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut meat into bite-sized chunks, about 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 TBS coconut oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Then cook meat until it is browned all over, about 8 minutes.

Add meat to your slow cooker and cover.

Smash garlic cloves and add them to the slow cooker.

Add the remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil to the frying pan and heat to shimmering. Now dice onions and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.

Spoon in tomato paste into the onions and stir to combine.

Add broth, coconut aminos and bay leaves to the onions, and stir to combine. Heat to a low boil.

Add onions and broth to the slow cooker.

Dice the leek into small pieces and stir into the slow cooker. Sprinkle in tapioca pearls and rosemary.

Cut parsnips, carrots and squash into bite-sized pieces.

Place the vegetables on a large piece of aluminum foil, and season thyme, salt and pepper.

Wrap foil to enclose the vegetables into a sealed packet and place on top of the meat in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook in slow cooker on high for 6 to 7 hours.

Carefully open foil packet to release steam, and then pour them over the meat.

Stir vegetables and meat to combine.

Serve hot!