Courgette & Emmental Rice Bake

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g long-grain rice cooked the day before (about 170 g uncooked)
• 4 eggs
• 200 g fromage frais, 0% fat
• 1 courgette (about 300 g each)
• 2 tins of tuna in water (208 g drained)
• 100 g grated Emmental (70 for the mixture, 30 for the top)
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp olive oil (2 tsp for the coulis, 1 tsp for the tin)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• 22 cm round cake tin
• Baking paper
• Grater
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Small saucepan

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease the tin with 1 tsp oil and line the base with a disc of baking paper: this is what will let you turn out the cake without breaking it.
2. Wash the courgette and grate it on the coarse side of the grater without peeling it. Salt it lightly, leave it to release its water for 5 minutes, then squeeze it very hard in your hands over the sink to remove as much water as possible: otherwise the cake will be soggy.
3. In the large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the fromage frais and herbes de Provence. Add the cold rice, separating the grains with your fingers, the squeezed courgette, the drained and flaked tuna and 70 g Emmental. Season with pepper, salt lightly and mix well.
4. Pour the mixture into the tin and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon to get rid of any gaps: a well-packed cake holds together when sliced. Scatter over the rest of the Emmental.
5. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 °C, until the top is nicely golden and the centre is firm to the touch. A knife inserted in the centre should come out with no trace of runny egg.
6. While it bakes, make the coulis: peel and chop the garlic, then fry it gently for 1 minute in the saucepan with 2 tsp oil, without letting it colour. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat, stirring now and then.
7. Once out of the oven, leave the cake to rest in the tin for 10 minutes: it firms up as it cools. Run a knife around the edge, turn it out onto a plate, peel off the paper, then flip it right side up onto a serving dish.
8. Cut into 4 portions and serve warm, topped with hot tomato coulis. The cake is also very good cold the next day, packed in a lunchbox.