Red Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. dried red beans
1 1/4 lb. seasoning (baked ham)
1 1/4 c. chopped onion
1 c. thinly sliced shallots (scallions)
1/3 c. celery
3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
3 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 c. rice
2 large ham bones
4 qt. water
1 tsp. salt
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. red pepper pods, crushed
1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Preparation

Soak red beans overnight in cold water to cover.
When ready to cook, drain in colander and put them with the other ingredients into a heavy 8 to 10-quart pot or kettle.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer for 5 hours.
Turn off heat; remove ham bones and scoop out the pieces of ham.
Strain the soup through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, mashing whole beans with a wooden spoon.
Remove about 3/4 cup of bean solids from sieve and put them in bowl with ham.
Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate for later use.
Put the thick creamy soup back into pot and warm over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring to keep it smooth.
Serve piping hot over rice.