Humble Home-Cooked Beans - cooking recipe

Ingredients

11 ounces dried cannellini beans, soaked in cold water for at least 12 hours
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 stick celery, trimmed
1 small potato, peeled and halved
2 cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil, for topping
1 -2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, for topping
4 slices sourdough bread, for serving

Preparation

Drain the soaked beans, then give them a good wash.
Place them in a deep pot and cover them with cold water.
Throw in the garlic, herb sprigs, bay leaves, celery stick, potato and tomatoes.
Place the beans on the heat and slowly bring to the boil.
Cover with a lid and simmer very gently for 45 minutes to an hour, until soft and cooked nicely. Skim if necessary, topping up with boiling water from the kettle if you need to.
When the beans are cooked, drain them in a colander, reserving enough of the cooking water to cover them halfway up when put back in the pot.
Remove the garlic, herbs, celery, potato and tomatoes from the beans. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and pinch the skin off the tomatoes.
Put the garlic, tomatoes and potato onto a plate, mash them with a fork and stir back into the beans.
Season well with salt and pepper, and pour in up to 3 TBSP of extra-virgin olive oil and a few splashes of vinegar.
Stir in the parsley and serve on some toasted sourdough bread.