Dried white beans cooked with aromatics, finished in a duck-fat tomato sauce with pork

Soak the dried beans in plenty of cold water; overnight is the standard, about two hours is enough.

Optional: blanch the beans -- cover with fresh cold water about 5 cm above the beans and bring to a boil.

Boil three minutes, turn off the heat and rinse the beans in cold water.

Put the beans in a pan of fresh cold water and bring to a boil; discard any floating beans and skim off the white foam.

Reduce the heat; add the half onion studded with three cloves, the carrot in large pieces, thyme, bay leaves, a garlic clove and, optionally, a piece of peppered cured ham.

Cook at a gentle simmer about 1 1/2 hours; depending on the beans and the soaking it can take from 1 to over 2 hours.

For the sauce, warm duck fat in a thick-bottomed pan over medium heat.

Add thyme, shallots, a garlic clove and the pork belly; cook two or three minutes to release the flavour.

Add a good spoon of tomato paste and cook it in about a minute over medium heat to remove its excess acidity.

Add about 400 g tomato puree and warm until it starts to simmer, two or three minutes at most.

Taste for acidity; if too acidic, mix in a little sugar, without overdoing it.

Add the chicken stock, mix gently and bring back to a simmer; add black pepper.

Reduce the heat and let the sauce reduce gently 15 to 20 minutes on very low heat while the beans cook.

When the beans are almost cooked (a bit more than an hour), add salt and cook another 10 minutes.

Remove the aromatics and carrots to another container, then drain the beans.

Cut the meat cooked with the beans and add it to the tomato sauce; add the beans.

Season with more pepper and a little salt, add a hint of parsley, and cook the beans in the sauce 10 minutes.