White beans with sage and tomato (Fagioli all'uccelletto)

1. Tip the beans into a colander, rinse with cold water and drain.

2. In a saucepan, fry the garlic cloves, crushed in their skins, and the sage leaves in 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant, without letting the garlic brown.

3. Add the tomatoes crushed by hand, season with salt and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.

4. Stir in the beans, pour in the water and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and creamy and the beans have taken on its flavour.

5. Season with pepper and more salt if needed, remove the garlic and leave to stand for a few minutes.

6. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve hot.

Tip: A Florentine side dish; the name means "little-bird style" - after the sage used to cook game birds; you can also make it with dried beans (soaked overnight and boiled until tender), and with sausages it becomes a hearty one-pot meal.