Preisoep (Leek & Potato Soup)
Preisoep
The homely Dutch leek and potato soup — sweet softened leeks and floury potatoes simmered in stock, blended smooth or left chunky, with smoked bacon.
IVSoups- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Beginner
Leek and potato is one of those pairings that turns up in nearly every European kitchen because it simply works — two humble, cheap, cellar-keeping vegetables that together make something greater than either. The Dutch preisoep is the local, unfussy version: leeks softened until sweet, floury potatoes simmered until they melt, and, more often than not, a scatter of crisp smoked bacon on top.
An everyday soup
There is no ceremony here, and that is the point. This is weeknight cooking, the soup of a nineteenth-century household kitchen ruled by the potato and by thrift — filling, cheap, and made from what the garden and the larder always held. Leeks are among the hardiest of Dutch vegetables, standing in the cold ground through autumn and winter, and a bundle of them with a few potatoes has fed families through many a lean month.
Leek and potato need almost nothing else — a little butter, good stock, and time to grow sweet.
Let the potato do the thickening
The one thing worth getting right is the potato. A floury variety, the kind that falls apart when boiled, releases its starch into the broth and thickens the soup all on its own, which is why a good preisoep needs neither flour nor, really, cream. Sweat the leeks gently so they stay sweet rather than browning, simmer until the potatoes collapse, then decide your texture — velvet-smooth from the blender, or roughly crushed and rustic.
Crisp bacon and chives lift it from plain to satisfying, but the soup underneath is quietly, reliably good on its own.
“Use a floury potato — its starch thickens the soup on its own, so you rarely need cream for body.”
Ingredients
Serves 4
The soup
- 4leeks — about 600 g, sliced
- 30 gbutter
- 500 gfloury potatoes — peeled, diced
- 1 litrevegetable or chicken stock — hot
- 1bay leaf
- 100 mlcream or milk — optional
To finish
- 120 gsmoked bacon lardons — spekjes
- 1 tbspchives or parsley — chopped
- to tastesalt, pepper and nutmeg
Method
- 1
Wash and sweat the leeks
Slice the leeks and wash them well in a bowl of water to float out the grit that hides between the layers. Sweat them slowly in the butter, lid on, until soft and sweet but not browned — colour would coarsen their gentle flavour.
- 2
Add potato and stock
Add the diced potatoes, the hot stock and the bay leaf. Use a floury variety; its starch breaks down as it cooks and thickens the soup naturally so no flour or cream is strictly needed for body.
- 3
Simmer until tender
Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are completely soft and starting to fall apart at the edges. Fish out the bay leaf before you go any further.
- 4
Blend or keep rustic
For a smooth, elegant soup, blend it until velvety and stir in the cream. For a homelier bowl, mash it only roughly with a spoon so some texture remains. Either way, loosen with a little stock if it is too thick.
- 5
Crisp the bacon and serve
Fry the bacon lardons until crisp and golden. Season the soup with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg, ladle out, and scatter each bowl with bacon and chives. A swirl of cream on top is a nice touch.
In the kitchen
The tools that make this recipe easier.
- EssentialPotato ricer ↗
The route to lump-free stamppot and mash.
- SpecialistVlaai / tart tin ↗
Wide shallow tin for Limburg vlaai and open fruit tarts.
With the soup
A bowl of snert is a meal — but the trimmings make it Dutch.
- Roggebrood met spek — rye bread with a slab of bacon
- Katenspek — smoked cured bacon on the side
- Mustard — a dab of coarse mustard on the rye
Questions from the kitchen
How do I get the grit out of leeks?+
Slice them first, then swish the slices in a big bowl of cold water and lift them out, leaving the grit at the bottom. Leeks trap soil deep between their layers, so a quick rinse of the whole stalk is not enough.
Should I blend it or leave it chunky?+
Both are traditional. Blended, it is smooth and refined; left rough, it is the homely everyday version. Blend half and leave half for the best of both — smooth body with a little texture.
How do I make it vegetarian?+
Use vegetable stock and swap the bacon for fried croutons, toasted seeds, or a spoon of crisp fried onions. The leek and potato base is naturally meat-free and full of flavour.
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