Were it not for the encounter between Pope Francis and Melania Trump during the visit of the President of the United States to the Vatican, most of us would probably have never heard of “potica,” a traditional Slovenian sweet, mostly eaten at Easter. If you haven’t yet heard of the “potica-pizza” incident, you can read all about it here.
In a nutshell: when meeting the First Lady, the pope asked (in Spanish): “What do you give him to eat … ‘potica’?” The translator relayed, “What do you give him to eat,” adding, “is it …”, and Melania interjected, “Potica? Yes.” The name of the dessert sounds like po-tee-sa, which given Melania’s response, led commentators originally to understand that she misunderstood him to say “pizza.” In any case, it was a charming conversation.
Translation and pronunciation issues aside, there’s a recipe for potica (“orehova potica,” specifically) you can look for at the Slovene National Benefit Society website. This might have been the one both Pope Francis and the First Lady were referring to. Remember: it’s a recipe for potica, not pizza! However, if you don’t have the time to read through it, here’s a video you can learn from:
And today we celebrate...