Makes 1 litre | 1 ¾ pints
1 kg | 2 ¼ lb beef or veal marrow bones or chicken carcasses, cut into 5 cm | 2 pieces
2 medium onions, unpeeled, cut into 2.5 cm | 1 in pieces or into eights through the root
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2,5 cm | 1 in pieces
2 sticks of celery, cut into 2,5 cm | 1 in pieces
1 turnip, cut into 2,5 cm pieces
1/ small celeriac, peeled and cut into 2,5 cm | 1 in pieces
110 g 4 oz button mushrooms
1 bulb of Florence fennel
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tomato puree
about 2 litres | 3 ½ pints cold water
a handful of fresh parsley stalks
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
sprig of fresh thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 220 deg C | 425 deg F | gas mark 7
2. Trim any excess fat from the bones. Place in a roasting tray and roast in oven for about 1 hour until a rich russet-brown. Turn the bones occasionally to ensure that they roast and brown evenly on all sides. During the browning process most of the remaining fat will melt and collect in a roasting tray.
3. Shallow-fry the vegetables in vegetable oil until they are caramelized to a rich golden-brown. It is essential that they do not burn.
4. Add the tomato puree to the vegetables just before they are fully browned to caramelize it to a deeper red-brown colour.
5. Remove any burnt vegetable pieces as they will taint the stock with a bitter flavour.
6. Place the bones and vegetables in a deep, narrow pot and cover with cold water.
7. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming off the scum as it rises to the surface. There should be little fat as most of it was rendered down during the roasting and browning process.
8. When the water comes to a poach, pour cold water to cover all the ingredients, then bring back to the boil. Poach the ingredients for 4-5 hours for chicken bones or 5-6 hours for beef or veal bones, skimming occasionally.
9. Strain the stock to the required strength, skimming regularly.
10. To store the stock, reduce to a glace, then cool.

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]