Chicken, Broccoli And Apricot Casserole - cooking recipe

Ingredients

200 g long grain rice
500 g broccoli florets
425 g can apricot halves in juice
2 tbsp sunflower oil
600 g chicken breasts, cut into pieces
75 g butter
40 g plain flour
75 ml double cream
1 tsp curry powder
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
25 g flaked almond

Preparation

Cook the rice in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes or until just tender. Cook the broccoli in 2 1/2 cups water for 3 minutes until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Drain the apricots, reserving the juice.
Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the chicken for 4 minutes, stirring. In a separate pan, melt 3 tbsp of the butter and stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually blend in the broccoli cooking water and the apricot juice and cook, stirring until slightly thickened. Stir in the cream and curry powder and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400*F. Stir the rice, apricots, chicken, and broccoli into the sauce and mix well. Spoon into one large ovenproof dish or 4 individual dishes.
Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and almonds and dot with the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly crisped. Serve hot.