For The Broth

1½kg beef, pork, chicken or fish bones 200g carrots, cut into chunks 2 stalks celery, cut into chunks 1 onion, cut into chunks 2 leeks, cut into chunks 3 litres water (or more) 4 sprigs parsley 2 sprigs thyme 1 bay leaf 5 peppercorns

1.1 Heat your oven to 220°C.

2.Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes until well browned, turning occasionally (no need to oil or season).

3.When the bones are brown, add the carrots, celery, onion and leeks to the pan and roast for a further 5 minutes. Give everything a good stir before it goes into the oven. Skip the first three steps for fish broth. 4.Transfer

everything from the roasting pan into a large pot, ensuring you scrape out all the flavourful sticky bits.

5.Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and cover with water. You could fill the entire pot.

6.Bring to the boil, then drop the heat to a gentle simmer and leave the broth to simmer uncovered for about 4 hours (30 minutes for fish broth), skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.

7.Once you hit 4 hours (30 minutes for fish), strain the stock through a fine sieve or muslin cloth, and leave it to cool.

8.If the broth is still very bland, you can reduce it until the volume decreases and the flavour intensifies.

9.You can use it immediately, or freeze for later use. It will keep in the freezer for months.