Place the veal shanks in water and bring to the boil. Rinse the veal shanks under the cold tap and then place them in the 2 litres of water and bring them back to the boil. Skim the soup, then add the onion, carrot, leek, crushed peppercorns, bay leaf and the thyme and leave to simmer gently for 4 hours.
Cook the asparagus, peas, beans and spring onions in some of the stock until ‘al dente’ and season with salt and pepper. Divide the cooked veal shanks over 4 soup bowls. Strain the veal soup through a fine sieve and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the spring vegetables over the veal shanks, ladle the hot soup all the way round and garnish with a sprig of chervil.
Serve with freshly baked French bread. When laying the table, include a teaspoon for the marrow from the veal shank.
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