A few weeks ago, the food battle results were published. I was very happy to learn that it was Valérie from I love cakes who had won it because I really love her blog (besides, I had interviewed her here). I knew she was going to create a nice theme for us. I was not mistaken because she proposed a theme that I really enjoy: a little brunch among 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 on the publication date of my participation in the food battle, so I had decided to prepare my article in advance. And then the lack of time and perhaps also a bit of laziness meant that I didn't cook and therefore didn't write an article. No problem, it will be an opportunity to discover a local specialty and make it again for the food battle, I told myself, and it turned out to be a great decision!

But before I tell you about my recipe, a little recap of the concept of the food battle and its participants. The food battle is a challenge created by Carole from the blog Sunrise over sea. A theme is defined each month by the previous winner who will choose their favorite recipe from all the entries. And since Valérie is also on vacation this week, it's Kelly from Graine de faim who is hosting the competition).

So this month's theme is:

and here is the list of participants:

I Love Cakes – Graine de faim Kely – The dessert is for me – Bring back the pot – Why I'm getting fat – Cooking & Bon appétit – United Colours of Macarons – For the love of good things – What are we eating mom? – My Nomad Cuisine – Quick… well cooked – Lise's cupboards – Gourmet itineraries of a dessert lover – My kitchen – PLAYWITHFOOD – Elo in the flour – Beef Carrot – Home cooking And why not me? – A grain of salt and gourmandise – Little spoon and slippers – Hot potato – Little Ju from Nantes– Flower of tea – Dyen's kitchen – Simply homemade – One more lick – Cook a life by Maeva – Peppered Seb – Tea Time & Delicatessen – As delicious as a cake – Recipes galore – Afternoon tea – The garden of delights – A kitchen for Voozenoo – Homemade treats – Oh, the gourmande… – Sab'n'pepper – A few grams of gourmandise – Cyrielle gourmandise –

(lots of 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, everyone I meet is keen to have me taste a new local specialty (I don't need to tell you that I'm in heaven). 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 you don't need to do anything with them other than eat them fresh from the harvest).

The macatia: the traditional Reunion breakfast!

Despite this, I made a nice 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 the island of Bourbon.

For others, the macatia comes from a not-so-distant era when nothing had to 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 developed too much during the night and became acidic. Bakers therefore added sugar to make it a little more palatable and would have thus invented macatias.

After browsing through various blogs, I settled on the blog Alpha Omega Culinary. Apparently this recipe is similar to that of a bakery in Grand Bois (a hamlet in the south of the island near Saint Pierre where I stayed). So I took over 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, rise, shaping, proofing (which is the name of the second rise). I didn't have any particular difficulties, but I was pleased to have tried homemade sourdough bread at my parents' place this summer. It allowed me to be more comfortable with dough consistency (even though I used yeast here). My advice for bread: the type of flour is what makes the WHOLE success of the bread (here I used T65) don't think the one in your cupboard will do... And besides, you're lucky today because I'm showing 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 chattering and let you enjoy the visuals (however sorry, I don't look very friendly when I'm cooking ^^). And if you want more details, they're the same steps as in my brioche recipe.

Macatias