Paleo beef stew with root vegetables
Deeply browned chuck braised until it falls apart in a dark, savoury gravy of tomato, balsamic and thyme. Carrots, parsnips, turnips and mushrooms replace the potatoes and soak up all of it, and a spoon of arrowroot at the end gives the gravy its gloss.
- Time
- 195 min (25 prep + 170 cook)
- Servings
- 6
- Per serving
- 454 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
Ingredients
- 2 lb chuck roast, trimmed, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) cubes
- 2 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups bone broth, beef
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Root vegetables
- 2 tbsp arrowroot
- 2 tbsp water, cold
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Steps
- Pat the beef dry and season it with half the salt and all the pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the beef in two batches, 8–10 minutes a batch, until deep brown on several sides. Lift it onto a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion and celery and cook 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
- Stir in the broth, balsamic, coconut aminos, bay and thyme, return the beef and its juices and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours.
- Add the carrots, parsnips, turnips, mushrooms and the rest of the salt. Cover and simmer 45–60 minutes more, until the beef falls apart and the vegetables are tender.
- Stir the arrowroot into the cold water, stir it into the stew and simmer for 2 minutes, until glossy and slightly thickened. Take out the bay leaves, taste for salt and scatter with parsley. It keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months; an arrowroot gravy can thin as it reheats, so stir in a teaspoon of fresh slurry if it does.
Good to know
Can I use sweet potato instead of parsnips?
Yes, it makes the stew a little sweeter and softer, at about the same score. Add it for the last 30 minutes so it holds its shape.
Can I cook it in a slow cooker?
Yes. Sear the beef and do step 2 in a pan, then cook everything but the arrowroot and parsley on LOW for 8 hours. Stir in the slurry and cook on HIGH for 15 minutes to thicken.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 93
- Protein
- (33%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (44%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (23%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 252 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2722 kcal goes into the pot and 3218 g of ingredients comes out as about 2938 g of food: 93 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.