36 Boil your bones

Bone broth is the trendy health craze of the moment, but making your own stock isn’t new. We think boiling your bones after Sunday lunch is an easy and efficient way of getting the most out of your leftovers. Plus, a home-made stock is a wonderful base for soups, stews, risottos and sauces.

BROWNED CHICKEN STOCK Freeze reduced stock in freezerproof bags, and use from frozen.

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. Trim 1 large chicken carcass of excess fat, leaving some on for flavour. Put into a roasting tin and roast for 50min-1hr until bones are deep brown. Meanwhile, in a separate roasting tin, toss together 2 peeled and quartered onions, 3 roughly chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery sticks and 1tbsp oil. Roast for 35min. Mix in 2tbsp tomato purée and roast for a further 10min. Put bones, veg and 125g (4oz) button mushrooms into a large pan or stock pot; cover with cold water. Bring up to the boil, skimming off surface scum frequently. Once boiling, pour in a small jug of cold water. The fat will solidify and rise to the surface – skim this off. Bring stock back up to a simmer, add a small bunch of parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, about 8 black peppercorns and a pinch of salt. Keep stock at a gentle simmer for 4hr, skimming as needed. Strain into a container or pan. Use as is (it will be fairly mild), or rapidly boil for about 45min-1hr until reduced by two thirds for a stronger flavour. Makes about 3 litres (5¼ pints) before reducing