• 6 lbs beef soup bones
• 1 lg onion
• 1 or 2 shallots
• 3 large carrots
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 stalks celery, including some leaves (or 1 celery root, peeled & cubed)
• 1 lg tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped parsnip
• 1 med potato
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 to 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic
• 12 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Trim root end off onion. Slice or quarter the onion, peel and all. Scrub carrots and chop into 1-inch chunks. In a shallow roasting pan, place soup bones, onion & carrots. Bake uncovered, about 30 min or until the bones are well browned, turning occasionally.

3. Drain off fat. Place the browned bones, onion & carrots in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Pour 1/2 cup water into the roasting pan and rinse. Pour this liquid into soup pot.

4. Scrub the potato and chop it into chunks, peel and all. Chop the celery stalks into thirds. Add celery (or cubed celery root), tomato, parsnip, potato, peppercorns, parsley (including stems), bay leaf, salt, thyme & garlic to the pot. Pour in the 12 cups of water.

5. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 hours. Strain stock. Discard meat, vegetables & seasonings.

6. To clarify stock for clear soup: In order to remove solid flecks that are too small to be strained out with cheesecloth, combine 1/4 cup cold water, 1 egg white, and 1 crushed eggshell. Add to strained stock. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Strain again through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.