ribollita

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250g cannellini beans cooked
4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2 whole heads celery chopped
3 large carrots peeled and chopped
1 large red onion peeled and chopped
3 cavolo nero (or Kale or Swiss Chard), stalks removed leaves coarsely chopped
1 loaf stale bread crusts sliced or torn, soaked in water
1 stock cube
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side dish

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and soak the bread in some water.
2. In a deep, non-stick pan, fry the garlic, celery, carrot and onion in a little oil until the flavours combine.  
3. Squeeze the bread as hard as you can to get rid of excess water.   Add to the mixture together with the cavolo nero and cannellini beans.
4. Dissolve the stock cube in ½ lt of water and add to the mixture.
5. Season and bring to the boil.  Place in oven and then cook for about 30 mins.
6. Every 10 mins give the Ribollita a stir, add a little water if you think it's sticking and a tbsp of olive oil.
7. 5 mins before you take it out of the oven, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and pop back in the oven.

• Your Ribollita may need more than 30 mins as the carrots can take a while to cook. Also, exact amounts are not possible as you must balance the amount of liquid to bread so that the dish is very thick.