Potica Image Used Under Creative Commons License From pinterest.com
Citizens, it would appear that the blessed Pope, Holy Father Francis I, may have made a joke about President Trump’s weight today! He asked his Slovenian wife, First Lady Melania Trump, if she was feeding him Potica (it is apparently one of the favorite desserts of His Holiness!)
This delicious Slovenian nut roll now lives in the pages of Internet infamy and it truly is a magnificent and delicious treat!
Slovenian cuisine (Slovene: slovenska kuhinja) is not uniform, but diverse and influenced by the diversity of Slovenian landscape, climate, history and neighbouring cultures. In 2016, the leading Slovenian ethnologists have divided the country into 23 gastronomic regions.
Slovenian cuisine can be divided into town, farmhouse, cottage, castle, parsonage, and monastic Slovenian cuisine. The bourgeois Slovene cuisine incorporated elements of Austrian, German and French cuisines, whilst the dishes eaten by the working class were mostly a function of their professions (notably, mining and forestry).
Potica, however, was first mentioned by Primož Trubar, a Lutheran priest who published the first books in the Slovenian language in the 16th century. It was also mentioned by Janez Vajkard Valvazor, a Slovenian polyhistor who wrote the famed The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola in the 17th century.
Its recipe was first described by Valentin Vodnik, a Slovenian poet who wrote the first Slovenian recipe book in 1799. The first book entirely dedicated to potica (Poticas of Slovenia, 2013) was written by Dr. Janez Bogataj, a famous Slovenian ethnologist.
Potica is such an important part of Slovenian heritage that it was twice featured on its postage stamps.
The first time was in 1993 in the Europe in miniature series. The stamp was designed by the legendary Miljenko Licul, also the designer of the Slovenian passport and the national identity card, as well as the national side of the Slovenian Euro coins.
The second stamp was published in 2005 in the Europa – Gastronomy series. It features three typical poticas: walnut, poppy seed and tarragon, symbolizing three geographical regions of Slovenia: the Alps, the Pannonian plains and the Mediterranean.
Potica can have many types of fillings, I stick with the classic Walnut. That said, one variation of Potica uses a unique tarragon filling – I have created a tarragon syrup to help flavor the roll with this unique taste, per tradition! 😀
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Slovenian Nut Roll – Potica
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1 cup plus 6 T. butter, melted and cooled (2 ¾ sticks)
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- Microplaned lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 t. sugar
- 6 cups flour, plus more for kneading
- 1 t. salt
- ***
- Yeast Mixture:
- 5 tsp. dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- ½ c. warm water
- ***
- Nut Filling:
- 2 lb. shelled walnuts, soaked for 12 hours in water, allowed to dry then ground fine – don’t let it turn into walnut butter, they should be powdery
- ½ c. butter
- 2 c. milk
- 1 c. sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup tarragon syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
- ***
- Tarragon Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 handful fresh tarragon
Instructions
- To make the syrup:
- Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir and add tarragon.
- Continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer for an additional 2 minutes and remove from heat. Let the syrup cool and transfer to an air-tight container. If refrigerated, the syrup will last for months.
- For the dough:
- In a one-cup measure, dissolve yeast in warm water, add sugar, stir and let bubbles form on top.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and sour cream. Mix well.
- In a small bowl, proof yeast in warm milk and sugar. Add yeast to the sour cream mixture. Mix well.
- Sift flour and salt. Add to the mixture in the large bowl and stir to combine. You should have a soft, sticky dough.
- Turn it out on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into four even balls and flatten them slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Nut Filling:
- Grind walnuts. Heat butter until golden brown and add nuts, stirring constantly; when thoroughly warm, add milk and mix well on low heat until mixture boils. Add sugar, syrup and honey, mix well; bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes. Beat eggs and pour slowly into mixture, stirring constantly and boil 10 minutes more. This mixture scorches easily, so heat must not be too high. Cool mixture.
- Construct the Potica:
- Carefully dump dough onto table that has been covered with a twin sheet or tablecloth and lightly floured.
- Start with a rolling pin, rolling the dough to a rectangle about 24 by 36 inches. Then stretch dough to 42 by 60 inches or to your table size. Cut off any thicker edges – it should be very thin.
- Drop filling by large spoonfuls over two-thirds of the dough (using hands spreads is the easiest and most uniform method.) Spread evenly to edges and pick up short edge of cloth and gently roll over and over itself.
- Cut into pan-size strips and patch with leftover thin dough or cut with a small plate and pinch ends shut.
- Place in readied pans and prick with cake tester (or turkey pin) to prevent air bubbles. Cover and let rise about 40 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 340° F depending on oven. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 20 minutes. Carefully dump out in hand, remove paper and set on a cooling rack. Cover with a cotton cloth and cool.
- Category: Recipes
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I must be only slovenian that hates thins thing
That potica in the picture looks like crap and not like babica makes! It has too much dough and not enough filling. And makova potica- with poppy seeds, not nuts, is better IMO!
that is to dray no filig iside
who is this addressed to?
Potica !!!! Njami…
We have it in Serbia as well, only I didn’t know it was called Potica.
apparently you call it povitica?
Ne, zovemo je štrudla sa orasima.
to ni isto, beri zgoraj 🙂
nije isto. potica je ono baš ima nešto svoje 😉
@Milan Filipov, imamo i mi “štrudel z orehi”, a nije to to 🙂
Milan Filipov nimaš pojma, kaj je POTICA
Orehova potica ☺️
Potica prepared only in Slovenia, recepe is our own, others cakes are not potica. Was some similarity about filling, but preparing is very different and special – known only in Slovenia. It’s our national cake for Christmas and Easter.
hahah jap fuuuul file
So good!!!
to je potica 🙂
saj imajo tudi hrvati ”zagrebačko rezino”, ki je ukradena blejska kremšnita prelita s čokolado…. prava potica je slovenska, to je to 😛
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremeschnitte
take ne morm nehat jest… šit, a se bom spremenu v trumpa? 🙂
the best version of Potica is Ocvirkovca…with cracklings and ham 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_roll
This is one of really rare things I cant stand. Slovenia has really tasty food but this is dry and boring.
— Because you did not eat the real homemade potica.
It is moist, slight and intense taste.
Purchased in a shop or a cheap restaurant, not even remotely similar to real domestic Slovenian potica.
Slovenians bake POTICA just for holidays and special occasions.
I did eat homemade potica as I live in Slovenia. I never bought it in the shop. I tried it witch chocolate, pehtran, nuts. No, thank you. I know ppl like it, I dont.
Yum Yum…
The great national holiday dish of our nice Alpine country of Slovenia since the dawn of times but one thing you have to do before using the recipe above is the following “secret”: put the wallnuts into water overnight before you crush them…….you wont have stomach-acid problems if you eat too much of it(because wallnuts are a pretty strong ingredient if eaten raw or unsoaked) …. the original is made of wallnuts soked in water for about 12hrs and raisins soaked in rum for like a day….and it goes great with pork-ham 😀 a slice of Potica with a slice of delicious pork ham…….and there are a lot of nuts around but in Slovenia we only use this type of wallnut http://www.seriouseats.com/images/22100414-walnuts2.jpg
Pogačar, this is a great tip thank you! I’ll add a notation to the recipe!
Potica is for me..the best ..I prepare this slovenian food ..more time..:)
Want some.
A friend in Dallas told me there is an entire town where lots of Slovenians settled in Texas that has a festival every year serving potica and other delicacies. I can’t remember the name of the place, though.
Kruh – za na POT =
POT-ICA !!!
try Polish Makowiec, not sure if i spelt it right.
Fascinating! That refrigerated sour cream dough is identical to my family version of potica, which is based on the recipe of my Slovenian American mother. Our filling is traditional and very simple–just a layering of melted butter, walnuts, sugar, and honey. That’s a tempting twist with the tarragon syrup. But I’d be afraid to spring it on my unsuspecting family of potica-lovers!
I tried the Tarragon Syrup for the first time and it’s very subtle, but awesome…I will add it each time. How did you prepare the pans. TIA MARY
Hi…I’m Slovenian and I’m making the Potica this year. I’ve always made the Povitica. Reading over the procedures where you mention placing them onto prepared pans, but can’t find how I have to prepare the pans. Thank you. Mary
Mary – my apologies, that step was indeed unclear. There is nothing you need to do to the pans, just have them ready and waiting when you put the potica in! 😀 I’ve clarified the recipe, thanks for pointing it out.