Warming vegetable broth served with grilled bread, herbs and cheese | British Onions

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium sized white or red onions, peeled and chopped into small dice
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrots, cut into small dice
• 1 celery stick and leaves, chopped finely
• about 4 tbsp chopped vegetables, either turnip, squash, celeriac, swede or parsnip
• 2 large tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped, or 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered;
• 1.2 litres/2 pints chicken stock*
• 1 can 225g haricot, borlotti or cannellini beans, drained
• 2 green savoy cabbage leaves, or cavolo nero (Italian black cabbage), shredded
• salt and black pepper
• 4 thick slices of day old ciabatta or sourdough bread
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbs chopped parsley or basil
• 4 tbsp grated cheese, either mature cheddar, Caerphilly, Cheshire or Lancashire – or try Lord of the Hundreds or Berkswell, both hard pecorino-style sheeps’ milk cheeses, made in the UK