I've made my own version of ribollita today. I start with a fairly coarse soffritto of carrot, onion and celery (I like texture in me grub). Best olive oil of course. Once that's done (at least half an hour if not longer) I throw in a tin and a half of plum tomatoes, a teaspoon of sugar, a small pinch of chilli, a few cloves of fist-smashed garlic, two cans of cannellini beans and about 800 ml home-made veg stock. Seasoning of course. Simmer that lot for half an hour then add a big bunch of cavolo nero, torn up with coarse stems discarded. After about fifteen minutes it's done. But don't eat that until at least tomorrow or the next day. My amount does two of us twice. To serve it, you need two big slices (one each) of toasted bread that you've rubbed with olive oil and garlic. Put the toast in the bottom of the bowl and spoon the thick soup on top. Drizzle with your best olive oil and shave some Parmesan on top. You need chianti.

I don't use herbs or red wine in this recipe and I won't use the fennel seeds that some recipes recommend. There are herby flavours in my veg stock but I never want herbs to dominate.