Savoury Chicken & Courgette Crumble

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g chicken breast (3 fillets of about 200 g each)
• 3 courgettes (about 200 g each)
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g) + 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 2 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 60 g plain flour + 40 g rolled oats
• 50 g very cold unsalted butter
• 40 g grated Parmesan
• 200 g basmati rice
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan
• Baking dish (about 20 × 30 cm)
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Colander
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats and Parmesan, then add the very cold butter cut into small cubes.
2. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have large, uneven crumbs. Don't knead: the crumble should stay loose. Keep in the fridge until needed.
3. Cut the chicken into 2 cm dice and the courgettes into half-moons 1 cm thick. Peel and slice the onion, and finely chop the garlic. Evenly sized pieces cook evenly.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Sear the diced chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until golden on all sides (it will finish cooking in the oven). Season with salt and pepper and set aside on a plate.
5. In the same pan, over a medium heat, fry the onion for 3 minutes, then add the courgettes and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
6. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, herbes de Provence and the chicken with its juices. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes over a medium heat to reduce the liquid: a filling that's too runny would make the crumble soggy.
7. Pour the filling into the baking dish and scatter the crumble over in an even layer, without pressing it down. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
8. While it bakes, rinse the rice, then cook it for 10 to 11 minutes (according to the packet) in a large pan of boiling salted water, and drain. Leave the crumble to rest for 5 minutes out of the oven before serving with the rice.