Homemade Italian Minestrone Soup
A hearty Italian minestrone with vegetables, beans and pasta in a rich tomato broth for an easy family dinner.
Homemade Beef Stock Recipe
This homemade beef stock is built for depth of flavour: roast the bones and vegetables first, then simmer them gently with aromatics to extract a full, savoury base.
Make a large batch and keep it chilled for short-term cooking, or freeze in portions so you always have a reliable foundation for soups, braises and pan sauces.
Method
30m5h5h 30m
- Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Spread the beef bones on a large roasting tray and roast for 35–45 minutes, turning once, until deeply browned.
- Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the tray for the last 20 minutes of roasting so the vegetables caramelise at the edges.
- Transfer roasted bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Spoon off excess fat from the tray, then add tomato purée to the tray and scrape up any browned bits with a splash of hot water.
- Pour the deglazing liquid into the pot, then add peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks. Cover with cold water by 3–5 cm.
- Bring slowly to a gentle simmer. Skim off foam and impurities as they rise. Keep at a bare simmer for 4 hours, topping up with hot water if needed to keep ingredients submerged.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot or bowl. For a clearer stock, strain again through muslin.
- Cool rapidly, then refrigerate until the fat firms on top. Lift off the fat, then portion and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Tomato purée optional, for deeper colour
- 3 Carrot roughly chopped
- 6 Parsley stalks roughly chopped
- 2 Onion quartered, skins removed
- 3 Celery stalk roughly chopped
- 2 kg Beef bones marrow and knuckle bones, cut to fit tray
- 1 bulb Garlic halved crosswise
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorns whole
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 Bay Leaf dried
- 4 L Cold Water or enough to fully cover bones and veg
Notes
For a clearer stock, keep the simmer very gentle and skim the surface regularly rather than boiling hard.
If you want a richer result for sauces, reduce the strained stock by one-third before cooling.
Cool quickly, refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze in containers/ice-cube trays for longer storage.
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