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‘Hug in a bowl’ Amazeballs Stew

This stew came about because I had way too many beef marrow bones in the freezer and needed to use them up.

In the nineteen months I spent on GAPS, I craved slow cooked meats, particularly the connective tissue from around animals bones. I kid you not, I  happily ate little bowls of slimy, creamy connective tissue for dessert while my family ate chocolate cake around me. I thought that THEY were the ones missing out!

Autoimmune hepatitis left my gut in such a state that once I got into into the nitty gritty of repairing my gastrointestinal epithelium (gut lining), my cravings were quirky as all heck.

These days however, my gut lining is sealed and healed and I have no desire to eat meat. I think perhaps my cravings got the better of me and now I’m totally “fleshed out”.

My gallstone dilemma of 2016 gave me an aversion to animals foods and I now find myself thriving on a near-exclusive plant-based diet. Animal fat in particular makes me want to heave. How times change.

Those marrow bones were  sitting in the freezer from my days of bulk buying, and I was determined to use them up. Food wastage frustrates me almost as much going a day without going number two.

This stew is comforting, sweet and oh-so nourishing.

  • Full of medicinal spices
  • Mineral-rich seaweed
  • Connective tissue for cell renewal and healing-induced comfort
  • Fibre and immune-boosting Beta-carotene from the orange veggies

I served this with simple steamed rice, that I cooked and cooled down in the fridge, adding some coconut oil before refrigeration to keep the rice fresh. This method creates resistant starch which feeds our happy colon bugs. Happy colon, happy poos, right?

You could also serve it with cauliflower mash and steamed greens for a grain-free/lower carbohydrate meal if you find that works better for your body/hormones/energy levels. Just know that despite what Paleo support groups may preach, rice is not the devil!

*I created this recipe in December ’16 and am only just posting it now. I figured a stew recipe should wait for cooler weather before being shared. 

‘Hug-in-a-bowl” Amazeballs Stew

  • 1 large beef marrow bone with lots of delicious (yes, really) connective tissue and a little meat still attached to the bone), chopped by the butcher into 6-8 pieces
  • 1/4 cup coconut BBQ sauce or coconut aminos* (available at health food stores, online and even some supermarkets)
  • 2 teaspoons each of minced garlic and ginger
  • 5 large carrots, washed and chopped into rough chunks
  • 3 cups pumpkin (or sweet potato), chopped into large cubes
  • 1 large brown onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon quality sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt
  • 1 Tablespoon dulse flakes**
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Black pepper to taste (maybe 30 or so grinds from the grinder)
  • Filtered water to cover meat and veggies
  • 1/2 cup banana flour for thickening sauce

*If you don’t have coconut BBQ sauce or coconut aminos and tolerate soy, organic tamari sauce is fine. You may like to add 6 chopped pitted dates or a drizzle of rice malt syrup if you choose the latter. Tamari is sugar-free and won’t provide sweetness like the coconut options do.

**Dulse is a seaweed. I buy mine from Changing Habits. You can replace with a nori sheet (seaweed wrappers) torn into small pieces

Method

Chuck bones, veggies, spices, seasonings and sauce into a large electric slow cooker, adding enough filtered water to cover the bones and veggies. Cook on high for 8-10 hours. It’s best to get this on in the morning so it’s all ready for dinner.

Once cooked, switch the slow cooker setting to keep warm or “low”. The fat from the meat will have risen to the top during the cooking process, and it’s up to you how much is left in or taken out.

I used a ladle to carefully scoop off (roughly) 80% of this fatty film, placing it into a plastic takeaway container that I could easily throw out on bin night. If you reckon you’d use this fat for cooking, place into a glass jar and store in the fridge, using within the next three weeks. It’s an economic and tasty fat for cooking rissoles, roasting veggies etc.

Once you’ve taken care of the fat, use tongs to remove the bones from the pot. Strip all the meat and connective tissue from the bones and scoop any bone marrow from the bone cavities. Add all of this delicious stuff back into the pot. Discard the bones.

Then ladle 3/4 of the broth from the stew into a large saucepan. Bring it to the boil on the stovetop and add the banana flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat back of spoon.

Return thickened sauce to meat, veggies and remaining broth that have been keeping warm in the slow cooker. Give everything a good ole’ stir and then it’s all ready to serve.

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a week and will come even more gelatinous and thick. You can either reheat and serve or eat it cold as a “jelly” with the cooked and cooled coconut rice – YUM!