Pot-au-Feu

Place the beef shin and marrow bones in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a full boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes — a grey scum will rise aggressively. Drain, rinse the meat and bones under cold running water to remove all impurities, and scrub the pot clean. This blanching step is not optional — it is what allows the final broth to be clear rather than grey.

Return the blanched meat and bones to the clean pot. Add the charred onion halves (hold them cut-side down in a dry pan over high heat for 3–4 minutes until blackened — this gives the broth its golden color). Add the bouquet garni and enough cold water to cover everything by 5 cm. Bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat — this should take 20 minutes. Skim any remaining scum carefully as it rises. Reduce to the lowest possible simmer — the surface should barely tremble, just an occasional lazy bubble breaking through. Cook for 2 hours before adding any vegetables.

Add the vegetables to the simmering broth in stages by their cooking time: add turnips first (30 minutes to cook), then carrots and celery root (20 minutes), and finally leeks (15 minutes). The goal is for all vegetables to be perfectly tender at the same time. Do not add them all at once. The broth should remain at a gentle simmer throughout — never a boil.

Lift the meat and vegetables carefully from the broth with a slotted spoon onto a warmed platter. Untie and remove the muslin from the marrow bones. Strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with dampened muslin or a clean cloth. Taste and correct the salt. Serve the clear broth first in warmed soup bowls with a few small pasta or toasted bread. Follow with the meat, sliced thick, and the vegetables, accompanied by Dijon mustard, cornichons, coarse salt, and horseradish if desired.