vermicelli in sauce

Ingredients for 10 people:

* preparation and cooking time : about 1 1/2 hours * 500g (1 lb 2 oz) of mutton cut into small pieces

* 5 or 6 small fleshy mutton bones * 5 Thinly sliced onions * 1/2 teaglassful of oil

* 1 teaspoonful of beldi saffron and ready-prepared saffron. * 1 heaped teaspoonful of pepper

* 1 knob of butter the size of a walnut

* 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of vermicelli * 4 tomatoes (optional) * salt

Preparation: 

Put the meat, sliced onions, bones and skinned and quartered tomatoes in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Add the butter, oil, pepper, salt and saffron. Cover with 2 litres (4 pints) of water and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour.

20 minutes before serving, pour three-quarters of stock (without the ingredients) into another saucepan. Add 1 litre (2 pts) of water and a knob of butter and leave to boil. Cook for 5 minutes and then take off the heat.

The vermicelli should normally absorb all the stock. Turn it into a large dish and put the remainder of the stock containing the ingredients on top, after re-heating. Serve at once.