Fry up onions and seasonings with a little drizzle of olive oil. Add in everything else plus 1L water and simmer away for at least 2 hours (the longer the better, just add more fluid if necessary). Remove bay leaves and hock. Pull meat off hock and mix back in. My personal preference is to then use a stick whizzer and zoom it up, however, I know others who like to leave it chunky, suit yourself!