Recipe: Cream of Cannellini Beans

1 Sweat off the the finely chopped onion as well as the very finely sliced leeks with some butter in a cast iron pot. Add the tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf, season well. Cover and allow to cook on a gentle heat for 5 minutes.

2 Add your beans and 2 litres (2.1 qt) of water. Bring to the boil and taste and rectify the seasoning if required. Simmer for 45 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, dice up the smoked duck breast and pan fry them until crispy. Set aside on a piece of kitchen paper.

4 When the bean soup as reduced by half, take the bay leaf out and pass your bean through a potato masher* then through a fine sieve.

5 Pour into a large soup bowl. Mix in a little bit of walnut oil (or a good teaspoon of butter). Add the smoked duck pieces and serve piping hot.

*You could blitz the soup but reduced in this way it will get rid of the bean's skins making the soup more digestible.