Winter veg stew (AIP)

Hearty root vegetables cooked into a glorious stew

The winter is still lingering and there is no better way to wait it out (The Spring is Coming!) than dig into a steaming bowl of nourishing, vegetable laden stew. Oh my!

To make this gorgeous winter veg stew you will need (feeds 4 o 6):

500 g chicken thigh fillets

2 large onion

1 bay leaf

2 generous tbsp duck fat or lard

3 fat garlic cloves

1 cm fresh ginger

1 cm fresh turmeric

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

good pinch of dried rosemary

6 large carrots

1 small celeriac

1 small rutabaga (swede)

3 celery sticks

120 g curly kale
bone broth or filtered water

small bunch of flat leaf parsley, to serve

Note: I have used a pressure-cooker to make this stew but if you do not have one just make it on the stove, cooking gently under the lid until the veg are all done.

1. Melt the fat and add the thinly sliced onions and the bay leaf. Saute the onions until starting to get some colour.

2. Add the diced chicken thighs. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to brown.

3. Add the finely sliced garlic, ginger and turmeric. Stir to combine and cook for a minute or two, until aromas are released.

4. Add the dried herbs and the chunky veg: carrots, celery, celeriac and swede. Mix then add the bone broth or just filtered water that it almost covers the veg.

Tip: It does not have to cover all the veg because of the pressure cooking but if you do not have one you may want to cover your veg with the water.

5. Set the pressure cooker to 30 mins (less if you prefer some 'al dente' texture in your veg, I like mine well cooked).

6. When the time is up add roughly chopped curly kale and let it "cook" in the heat of the steaming stew.

7. To serve: Ladle your beautiful stew into generously sided bowls and sprinkle with some chopped fresh parsley. Dig in and enjoy!