“Tarnici de Alunis”

In a guest house in the village of Alunis, in Prahova County, besides the traditional dishes, guests are served with a large variety of desserts, including the so called Tarnici de alunis

România Internațional, 17.02.2019, 13:24

Welcome to a fresh encounter with
Romanian traditional cooking. In the past 30 years,
rural tourism has developed significantly in Romania, in particular in regions
such as Bukovina, Maramures, the Apuseni Mountains, Marginimea Sibiului and the
Bran-Moeciu area. Besides accommodation, guest houses provide leisure and
active tourism packages, sometimes inviting visitors to take part in
traditional household activities.

There are also guest houses that have capitalised
on the regional and local gastronomic specialties, turning them into tourist
attractions. Prahova is one of the most developed counties in Romania in terms
of both mountain and rural tourism. Restaurants in the area serve traditional
stews and meat dishes, as well as other preparations, such as a special cheese
with very little salt, smoked and left to age, known as the Doftana hard
cheese.

In a guest house in the village of Alunis, in Prahova County, besides
the traditional dishes, guests are served with a large variety of desserts,
including the so called Tarnici de alunis. The name comes from ‘tarna’, which
means little basket. These little baskets resemble muffins and are cooked using
mainly ingredients that people have in their homes.

For this dessert you will
need half a kilo of flower, 250 grams of white sugar, 3 eggs, buttermilk or
yoghurt, a bit of oil, vanilla, lemon zest, a pinch of baking powder and a bit
of salt. Mix all the ingredients until you get a thin batter-like dough, to
which you can add forest fruit, such as cranberries or raspberries. Pour this
soft dough into a muffin tin and top it with a mix made of 150 grams of white
flower, 50 grams of brown sugar and 100 grams of butter. Bake them in the oven,
on low heat, for approximately 25 minutes.

Enjoy!