“Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.”
~ Norman Kolpas
Comfort for the Long Winter
Today, I offer this recipe as a gift to anyone in the midst of a winter that won’t let go. It’s comfort food weather, and what’s more comforting than beef stew? Like many of you on a healing diet, I had an old stew recipe I used to love, full of ingredients I no longer eat, like potatoes and tomatoes. That’s OK. I’ve been on a healing diet for almost two years now, which means I’m very comfortable developing new versions of old favorites. I started with onions, garlic and rosemary for flavor. I kept the traditional carrots, but added celery root (a vegetable I met through a CSA 16 years ago and it’s been a love affair ever since), radishes (a big thank you to the former blog, Simply Healthy Home, for introducing me to this wonderful potato substitute), and cranberries (the secret ingredient that makes this stew so incredibly flavorful, inspired by Autoimmune Wellness). Finally, I added some bone broth for nutrient-density, and blended it with some vegetables before serving to thicken it without flour (an old grain-free trick that works every time). This stew puts my old stew recipe to shame. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Cranberries and Rosemary (Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Wahls, Whole30)
- Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. beef stew meat (cut into same size pieces)
- 2 bunches of radishes (scrubbed and trimmed, but left whole)
- 1 lb. celery root (peeled & cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 lb. carrots (peeled and thickly sliced)
- 3 cups bone broth
- 1 tsp. sea salt (less if your broth is salted)
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper (optional – omit for AIP)
- 2 large onions (peeled whole)
- 2 large cloves garlic (peeled whole)
- 2 branches fresh rosemary
- 8 oz. frozen cranberries (save these for the final step in the recipe)
Instructions
- Put the beef, radishes, celery root, carrots, bone broth, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Stir to blend.
- Nestle the whole onions down among the other ingredients. Place the whole garlic cloves on top of the onions. Lastly, place the rosemary branches on top of everything and cover the slow cooker. Save the cranberries for later.
- Turn it to low and cook for 8 hours.
- When the 8 hours are up, remove the rosemary branches and discard. Transfer the whole onions and garlic cloves to a blender. Add a couple of ladlefuls of broth and puree. Pour blender contents back into the slow cooker. Add frozen cranberries, and stir to blend. Cover and cook on low another 30 minutes.
- Taste the broth and add more salt, if needed. Serve!
Notes
- If you want to cook this recipe in your Instant Pot, you can cook it on high pressure for 35 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Method: Slow Cooker
Keywords: paleo, aip, gaps, wahls, whole30, crockpot, slow cooker beef stew with cranberries and rosemary
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