Bean and Smoked Pork Hocks Soup | Ciorba de Fasole cu Ciolan Afumat

Ingredients:
 - 2 pork hocks (smoked)
 - 1 lb beans
 - 1 carrot
 - 1 parsnip
 - 1 squash
 - One 15 oz can of tomato sauce or 3 tomatoes
 - 1 bell pepper
 - 1 red onion
 - 1 cup parsley
 - Salt
 - Pepper
 - Chili pepper
 - Thyme
 - Bay Leaves

Preparation:
 - In a large pot, put the smoked pork in plenty of water.  Cover with a lid, and boil for about 3.5 hours  We want to cook the meat until it starts to fall off the bone.  And we keep it covered to prevent a lot of the water from evaporating.
 - Separately, we need to boil the beans (I usually use a 1 lb bag of navy beans).  In Romania, the water in which they boil needs to be changed several times to help eliminate the gases.  And it seems to work, so I do it.  So, put the beans in water and bring to a boil.  Completely discard the water, replace it with fresh cold water, and repeat the process several times.  The magic number in Romania seems to be 3, but I usually do it 5 times.
 - Separately, shred the carrots, parsnip, and squash.  Also, dice the tomatoes (if not using the tomato sauce), bell pepper, and half of the red onion.  They will contribute a delicious natural flavor to the soup.
 - Once the meat starts falling off the bone (you can easily remove it with a fork and a blunt knife), figure out how much water you want to keep - and you want to keep some of the water that the smoked hocks boiled in, as it has a great flavor.  If you keep more, you'll end up with a Smoked Pork Hocks with Beans Soup.  If you keep less (about 7 cups), you'll end up with a Smoked Pork Hocks with Beans Stew.  You'll also end up with a stew if you continue the steps following for longer, and allow more water to evaporate.  That's my favorite process, as it also turns the beans a bit mushy and the sauce slightly thicker.
 - Add the beans (after having discarded the final water they boiled in) and the vegetables to the hocks and the water.  Also, add the spices: salt, pepper, and chili pepper to taste, about 3-4 bay leaves, and some 4 tablespoons of thyme.
 - Cook together for 20-30 minutes, or until the most of the water evaporates and you have a thick sauce for the stew.
 - Once it is ready, remove from heat, add the chopped parsley leaves, mix, and cover.

Presentation:
 - Serve next to toasted bread and red onions.  Feel free to further top it with chopped dill or parsley and finely-diced red onions for an improved presentation.  Serve warm.  And enjoy.