Basic Basque Beans

This recipe comes out of one my Basque cook books called The Basque Table, great book. I have cooked these beans for very large dinners (up to 70 people) always a winner. I have made a few changes. If you are preparing beans as a side dish, soup bones or morrow bones will suffice for flavor, I use ham hocks if I have them if not soup bones will work. But for a main course, you may want to add meat to the pot. Bacon or chorizo or even hamburger will work. If using hamburger, sauté first. *Research in recent years by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture shows that a simple procedure in preparation will eliminate 80% of the gas caused in eating beans. Complex sugars are that element and can be dissolved out in the soaking water by following this method. 1. Add the washed beans to a large pot with at least 3 times as much boiling water. 2. Boil 2 minutes without a lid 3. Remove from fire, cover and let stand 1 hour. 4. Discard water and add fresh cold water to cook.