Ribollita

Drain and rinse the beans. Dice the onion, carrots, celery and potato and slice the garlic. Strip the thyme leaves from their stalks. Strip the cavolo nero leaves from their stalks, then shred them and the cabbage. Slice the bread.

Cook the onion, carrots, celery and garlic slowly in half the oil for 15 minutes until soft and sweet.

Add the potato, tomatoes and thyme leaves and cook for 5 minutes.

Blend half the beans with some stock and add with the whole beans, cavolo nero, cabbage and remaining stock. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper, then, in a second deep pot, layer ladlefuls of the soup with the bread slices, starting and ending with soup, so the bread soaks it all up.

Leave the soup to cool for no more than 2 hours, then cover and refrigerate it overnight.

Next day, bring it slowly back to the boil with half the remaining oil, stirring to break up the bread, and let it bubble until very thick. Serve with the rest of the oil drizzled over.