I don’t know about you, but my gut is just LOVING root veg this winter! I’ve already given you the recipes for my beef stew and my vegan stew (also amazing). This recipe is a fantastic lamb stew that is easy on the gut and nourishes with soothing root vegetables. Dicing everything small and cooking for a long time greatly increases digestibility. This stew FEELS so good to the body, I’ve even served it for a dinner party – with toasted buttered bread for dipping – and there was not even a spoonful left in the pot.

The tomato paste and wine (possible triggers) are optional, but you may find they’re okay, since all the alcohol is evaporated, and the amount of tomato paste is very small compared to the volume of stew – just enough to perk the flavor, but not likely enough to trigger the gut. Of course, onion is optional too and won’t hugely impact the taste, so feel free to leave that out. You could also reduce the olive oil down to 2 tbsp if you don’t include onion, or if you’re minimizing fats. These are all tweaks you can use to customize to your gut tolerance, and this stew will still taste great!

You may also notice that all of my stew recipes contain a much higher proportion of veggies to meat than traditional stews. This is hands-down a healthier way to eat and much better for your gut as well. The only humans who could justify eating more meat than veggies are those doing hard labor for 8-10 hours per day and still growing (adolescents)! This also gives you a great excuse to only buy pasture-raised or organic meat – you will spend the same amount for less than half the meat, but your body will benefit tenfold! And you will be part of the change our planet needs to be able to survive this century. Factory farmed (CAFO) meat is killing our land, water, air, and health. Use your money to support what you believe in.

For a vegan version of this stew, use portabello mushrooms instead of the meat, and vegetable bouillon, instead of beef. The potatoes add a bit of starch to thicken the gravy slightly (boiling it down to reduce liquid will also thicken gravy), but you can also thicken with non-GMO cornstarch, arrowroot, or tapioca if you like a thicker gravy.

Shopping List

  • 1 large parsnip (or 2 smaller ones)
  • Half an acorn squash
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 3 small carrots
  • 8 ounces of lamb (or beef, or portabello mushrooms)
  • 1 cup of chopped green beans (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup Organic beef bouillon paste (or 2-3 tbsp powdered or pressed)
  • 1/4 cup Organic extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried mint (optional – some people like mint with lamb, others do not)
  • Onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, dried cilantro or parsley, sea or Himalayan salt, 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp. soy, or Tamari, or Bragg’s Aminos
  • 1 tbsp. tomato paste
  • Optional: 1/4 cup red or white wine (your choice)

METHOD

1. Peel and dice to similar size (keep all ingredients separate for now):

1 large onion
2 celery sticks

Half an acorn squash (the other half can be kept unwrapped in your veggie drawer)
3 small carrots
1 large parsnip
2 potatoes

*Note: The secret to a good stew is to chop everything to roughly the same size. I dice mine small – about 1/4″ square. This is also good for digestion as most people don’t chew enough before swallowing. 😉

Dicing the parsnip

2. Pan fry onion and celery together in a large, deep saucepan (about 10-liter capacity) with about 1/4 cup organic extra-virgin olive oil until onions are soft.

3. While that’s frying, mix the carrots, squash, and parnsip together on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and hand mix to coat. Then spread veggies out on the baking tray and roast at 400F for 15 minutes. If you cut your chunks larger, you may need to roast for longer.

*Note: Many sources say that roasting brings out the flavor of veggies. But I have to say, in a mixed stew like this, it’s not that important, so feel free to skip this step (less work!) and simply add these vegetables raw at Step #7.

This time, we roasted the squash and carrots and left the parsnip raw

4. Now chop up your lamb (or beef or portabellos), add to your saucepan of veggies, and sprinkle these seasonings on the meat:

Onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried cilantro or parsley, sea or Himalayan salt* and 1 tbsp. tomato paste (small amount so only enough to perk the flavor, likely not enough to irritate the gut), and 1 tbsp. dried mint (optional).

*Listen to your body intuition and add as much or as little of these herbs as your body wants. If you’re not sure, you can always add more later, it’s all good! Trust your body, start sprinkling and stop when you feel, “enough”.

Searing the meat with tomato paste and spices

5. Mix together well and sear the meat (so the outside is seared/cooked). Then add 1/4 cup red wine or white wine (your choice, alcohol will be boiled off, so only flavor is left) stir, and simmer together for about 5 minutes (allowing the taste of the wine to penetrate the meat).

I prefer red wine – but white wine was on hand and also tastes good

6. Next add your roasted root veggies, 2 bay leaves (if you don’t have any bay leaf it’s okay, it still tastes great without it), and 6 cups filtered or spring water, along with whichever bouillon you prefer. Use 2-3 squares of pressed bouillon, or 1/4 cup of paste, or 2-3 tbsp of powdered bouillon*

*Note: your bouillon plays a huge role in how good your stew will be. Test out different brands until you find the best one. Also, bouillon involves roasting/boiling down vegetables and/or meat, bones, marrow etc., so you’re going to get a concentration of any toxins/pesticides present – be sure and use certified organic bouillon only.

After adding 6 cups of water, roasted veggies, and raw diced parsnip and potato

7. If you didn’t roast your root veg, then also add them now. Bring stew to a boil in the large saucepan and then simmer for about one hour. Keep adding more water as the liquid boils off and reduces, and according to how thick/thin you like your gravy.

After simmering for 1 hour

8. Add 1 cup of chopped green beans and 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) half an hour before you plan to eat the stew. Also, add 1 tbsp. soy (or Tamari, or Bragg’s Aminos).

If you like your gravy thick, now is the time to add starch to thicken it. Note: The secret to thickening gravy with starch (cornstarch, tapioca starch, arrowroot, rice flour) is to add the starch to COLD water. So for a stew of this size, I would add either 2 tbsp. of organic cornstarch OR 1/4 cup rice flour, to 1/4 cup cold water, and mix to a smooth paste. Once you’ve mixed it perfectly smooth, with no lumps, pour the mixture into the stew, while stirring briskly to incorporate it quickly.

Bring the stew back up to a boil, while stirring occasionally over the next 10 minutes. Then turn back down to a simmer for 20 minutes, or until you’re ready to serve. Here’s what it looks like now, with the thickened gravy:

With thicker gravy

Add salt and pepper to taste, just before serving.

Super healthy lamb & roasted root veg stew – easy on the gut!

Feel free to switch out, or add more veggies to this recipe, as you like. For example, you can sub the acorn squash for butternut, or some other hard squash, if you prefer.

You can also add: Sweet potatoes, black beans, pinto beans, corn, swiss chard, cauliflower, broccoli, snow peas, bok choy, savoy cabbage, etc. The variations are endless! In fact, you could make this same stew every week, just changing the veggies and have it taste different (but yummy) every time.

Let me know what you think if you make this stew, and also upload a pic!