trim excess fat and skin off ham and add as one piece to pot
add water and bring to boil
reduce to simmer, add herbs and parially cover
simmer about 2 hours until all the vegetables are very soft
skim excess fat off the top every 15 minutes or so and stir to ensure even cooking
remove the ham from the soup and puree the vegetables with a stick mixer
slice up the ham and return to the soup
serve with crunchy bread and more pepper and herbs
Notes
will keep for several days in the fridge, soup also freezes well in single serve size containers
I prefer to use lean ham as there is less gross fat to scrape off the top and it is much easier to cut up, although has slightly less flavour than the hock