Soak the beans

• Clean and sort the Great Northern beans.
• Soak them in water overnight, then drain the soaking water.

Simmer the beans with the ham bone

• Put the drained beans in a pot with the water and the ham bone.
• Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and let simmer.

Chop the vegetables and sausage

• Chop the green bell pepper and the yellow onions.
• Slice the smoked sausage.

Brown the sausage

• Brown the sausage in a skillet without adding oil, letting it cook in its own fat.
• Remove the browned sausage and set aside.

Sauté the vegetables

• Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet with the sausage fat.
• Sauté just until slightly softened.

Add the vegetables to the beans

• After about 30 minutes of simmering, add the sautéed vegetables to the pot, without the sausage.
• Stir and keep simmering.

Add the sausage and ham meat

• When the liquid looks milky, add the sausage.
• Remove the ham bone, cut off any meat, chop it and return it to the beans.

Skim and mash

• Skim the excess oil from the surface.
• Mash some of the beans with the back of a spoon to make the broth creamy.

Season the beans

• Add the black pepper, garlic powder, Cajun Creole seasoning, paprika, cayenne and the bay leaf.
• Stir, cover and let simmer.

Finish with parsley and butter

• Once the beans are creamy but not watery, add the chopped parsley and the butter.
• Cover and simmer a little longer.

Serve

• Serve hot, ideally with rice.