A recipe for chocolate macatias: traditional Reunion bread originally made with leftover starter from the day before. A delight!
A few weeks ago, the results of the food battle were published. I was very happy to learn that it was Valérie from I love cakes who won it because I really love her blog (I had even interviewed her here). I knew she was going to create a great theme for us. I was right because she proposed a theme that I really enjoy: a little brunch with friends. And for the occasion, I decided to try a Reunion recipe: macatias.
As you may have noticed several times, I really love breakfasts. I knew I would still be in Reunion at the publication date of my participation in the food battle, so I had decided to prepare my article in advance. But then lack of time and perhaps a bit of laziness meant I didn't cook and therefore didn't write an article. No problem, it would be an opportunity to discover a local specialty and redo it for the food battle, I told myself, and it turned out great!
But before I tell you about my recipe, a quick recap of the food battle concept and its participants. The food battle is a challenge created by Carole from the blog Sunrise over sea. A theme is set each month by the previous winner who will choose their favorite recipe among all the entries. And since Valérie is also on vacation this week, it's Kelly from Graine de faim who is hosting the competition).
This month's theme is therefore:
and here is the list of participants:
I Love Cakes – Graine de faim Kely – Le dessert c'est pour moi – Ramène la popotte – Pourquoi je grossis – Cooking & Bon appétit – United Colours of Macarons – Par amour des bonnes choses – Keskonmangemaman ? – My Nomad Cuisine – Vite fait… bien cuisiné – Les placards de Lise – Itinéraires gourmands d'une amoureuse des desserts – Ma cuisine à moi – PLAYWITHFOOD – Elo dans la farine – Bœuf Karotte – La cuisine maison Et pourquoi pas moi ? – Grain de sel et gourmandise – Petite cuillère et charentaises – Chaud patate – La ptite Ju nantaise– Fleur de thé – Dyen's kitchen – Tout simplement fait maison – Encore une lichette – Cook a life by Maeva – Poivré Seb – Tea Time & Delicatessen – As delicious as a cake – Des recettes à Gogo – Afternoon tea – The garden of delights – Une cuisine pour Voozenoo – Douceurs maison – Oh, la gourmande… – Sab'n'pepper – Quelques grammes de gourmandise – Cyrielle gourmandise –
(look at all these blogs that I don't know, it will surely be an opportunity to make some nice discoveries).
Reunion cuisine, a real discovery
Since I've been here in Reunion, every person I meet wants me to taste a new local specialty (I don't need to tell you that I'm over the moon). The cuisine is quite a melting pot of many cultures but paradoxically, there are very few desserts or sweet recipes (probably because the fruits are so good that there's no need to do anything other than eat them right off the picking).
The macatia: the traditional Reunion breakfast!
Despite this, I made a lovely discovery eaten at breakfast by Reunion families: macatias. They exist plain or with a filling and I personally fell for the chocolate chip recipe. It's a slightly sweet bread to which you add chips. A little history lesson, the macatia would come from the Swahili term mkate which means bread. According to historian Prosper Eve, it was the bread of the slaves of Bourbon Island.
For others, the macatia comes from a time not so long ago when nothing could be thrown away, including leftover starter from the day before. But because of the lack of refrigeration and the temperature under the tropics, the bread dough would develop too much during the night and become acidic. The bakers would therefore add sugar to make it a bit more edible and would thus have invented macatias.
After exploring various blogs, I settled on Alpha Omega Culinary. Apparently this recipe is similar to the one from a bakery in Grand bois (a hamlet in the south of the island near Saint Pierre where I lived). So I invaded my hosts' kitchen and tried to reproduce the traditional macatia.
In terms of method, it's not very complicated. It's exactly the same process as a bread or classic brioche: kneading, rising, shaping, proofing (which is the name of the second rising). I didn't have any particular difficulties, but I was glad to have tasted homemade sourdough bread at my parents' house that summer. It made me more comfortable with the dough consistency (even though I used yeast here). My tip for bread: the type of flour is what makes ALL the success of bread (here I used T65) don't think that the one in your cupboard will do the trick… And besides you're lucky today because I show you all the steps in photos.
It was one of my friends who took the photos (thanks Thierry for this shoot!). So for once that I have visuals of the method to follow, I'm going to stop rambling and let you enjoy the visuals (but sorry, I don't look very friendly when I cook ^^). And if you want more details, they're the same steps as in my brioche recipe.
