Poulet à la Provençale (Provence-style Chicken)

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
1 tsp dried herbes de Provence
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 beefsteak tomato
1 aubergine (eggplant)
2 courgettes (zucchini)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
basil leaves
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Arrange the chicken breasts flat on a chopping board and rub all over with the herbs.

Cut a cross in the top of the tomato and make a few cuts in the skin. Place the tomato in a bowl and pour over boiling water. When the skin begins to blister and come away from the tomato, drain the tomato then peel the tomato and discard the skin.

Chop the tomato flesh finely. Coarsely chop the aubergine and the courgettes. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and membranes then cut the peppers into wide strips.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan, then add the chicken breasts and fry for 8 minutes on one side. Turn the chicken breasts over and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from the pan, season liberally and set aside to keep warm.

Add the onions, garlic, aubergine pieces, courgette pieces and bell pepper strips to the pan along with the remaining oil. Fry, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

Stir in the tomato and season with salt and black pepper. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture gently over low heat for 10 minutes before stirring in the parsley. Sit the chicken breasts on top then cover the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Serve the chicken breasts either whole or sliced and sit on top of the vegetables. Garnish with the basil leaves and serve.