Recipe: White Bean Cream

1 In a casserole, sweat the sliced onion and leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced, in butter, then add the tomato, thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and braise for 5 minutes.

2 Add the beans and cover with 2.1 qt (2 litres) of water. Bring to the boil, taste and adjust the seasoning, then cook gently, covered, at a low simmer for 45 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, in a pan with a little oil, sauté the magret lardons, then drain them and reserve on kitchen paper.

4 When there is only half the cooking time remaining for the beans, remove the bay leaf, then pass everything through a vegetable mill (*) and then through a fine sieve.

5 Pour into a soup bowl, mix with a good knob of butter or a drizzle of walnut oil, and serve the lardons separately in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves. A glass of Cahors to make chabrol and you're no longer far from the causses of Gramat... (*) You could also blend it, but the advantage of a vegetable mill is that it retains the bean skins, which makes digestion much easier!