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1
Place bean mixture into a large bowl and cover with water by a couple of inches. Soak 8 hours or overnight. Alternately, put them in a pot and cover with water by a couple of inches. Bring to a rapid boil for 3 minutes. Cover, turn off heat and let sit for one hour. Drain water and rinse.
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2
Place soaked bean mixture in a large pot or Dutch oven with 1 quart of the water, the pork hocks, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, cover partially. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until beans are just tender, 1-11/2 hours. If using lentils, they will mostly disintegrate and thicken into the liquid. If soup seems too thick, add some more of the water.
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3
Add onion, celery, garlic, and paprika to the pot. Stir in, then continue to simmer very gently for another 15 minutes. Stir in greens and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes.
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4
Turn off the heat. Fish out the hocks with a long pair of tongs or a skimmer. Go ahead and remove the thyme stalks and bay leaves while you're at it and discard them. Set aside the hocks for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. Pick the meat from the bones and add the meat back to the pot.
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5
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the vinegar. Serve!
