Oxtail soup Really delicious

serves 2
ingredients
25g/1oz beef dripping
2 oxtails
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks
2 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons pearl barley
1 tablespoon plain flour mixed
with 2 tablespoons water
salt and freshly ground
black pepper
• Melt the dripping in a heavy
saucepan. Fry the oxtails, onion
and carrot until brown, then add
1.2 litres/2pt water.
• Tie the celery, parsley and bay leaf
together, and add to the soup.
• Bring to the boil, add the pearl
barley and simmer for 4 hours,
skimming off any scum that rises to
the surface.
• Remove the large bones and
celery, parsley and bay leaf, then
thicken the soup with the flour
paste, stirring all the while.
• Season with salt and pepper, and
serve hot.