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Lemony Turkey Stew with Greens

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This quick and easy turkey stew recipe is wonderfully piquant, hearty and satisfying. It’s filled with butternut squash and greens to nourishing your body.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 small bunch curly kale or 5 ounces baby kale
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
  • 1 pound humanely raised ground turkey (dark meat) or 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained*
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt, more to taste
  • 4 cups butternut squash cut into chunks
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil or a combination
  • 24 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

 

Instructions

  1. Rinse the kale and pull the leaves off the stems. Finely chop the stems and set aside. Tear or chop the leaves into bite size pieces and set aside, separately from the stems.* SKIP THIS STEP if using baby kale.
  2. Heat a large pot over medium-low. Once it’s hot add the olive oil.
  3. Add onion, carrot and kale stems (if using bunched kale). Sauté until very soft and lightly brown about 7 minutes.
  4. Add tomato paste, cumin and red pepper flakes. Stir and sauté 1 minute until tomato paste gets a little darker.
  5. Add turkey or beans, garlic, ginger and salt. Turn up heat to medium. Sauté breaking up the meat with your spoon, until turkey is a little brown, 4-7 minutes.
  6. Add butternut squash and broth.
  7. Cover and simmer until squash is tender and broth is flavorful, 15-20 minutes.
  8. Add the kale leaves* and simmer until they are very soft, 5-10 minutes.
  9. Stir in parsley and lemon juice. Taste to adjust seasoning. Add more cumin, salt or red pepper flakes if desired.
  10. Serve topped with parsley.

 

Notes

Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark.

If your bunch of kale is large don’t use more than 8 cups of kale leaves.

Variations

  • Use 2 (15 ounce cans) white beans instead of the turkey . Add beans along with the butternut squash.
  • Make it with turkey and beans use 1/2 pound turkey and 1 can white beans.
  • Substitute other hearty greens like broccoli rabe or collards.
  • If using a more delicate green like spinach simmer only a few minutes.