In your very large cook pot brown the lardons for a couple of minutes then add in the celery, leeks and onions and cook for another couple of minutes

Add in the rest of the ingredients except for the cabbage, haricot beans and confit de canard (if you are using it) and cook for another 2 minutes

Add enough water/stock to cover everything and bring to the boil

Reduce the heat, put a lid on and simmer the soup for about an hour – you will have to add extra water/stock

After an hour, take the lid off, taste, season and add the cabbage then simmer for another hour 

Then add the beans and more water/stock to cover everything again and bring back to a simmer

Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig and adjust the seasoning

Warm the confit de canard in the oven and serve on top of the soup

Serve with crusty bread. The French prefer to eat this with stale bread as it soaks up more liquid!

The soup can simmer for as long as you are comfortable with – I leave mine for about 4-5 hours
The trick is to simmer rather than boil. Simmering allows the ingredients to stay intact instead of breaking up.