Raspberry Coulis

A coulis, prounounced "coo-LEE," is an uncooked fruit (or vegetable) puree.  Very simple, and very bright, fresh, alive in taste.

I'm using raspberries in this one, but you could do the same thing with any other berries, or other fruit.  I haven't done a vegetable coulis, so you're on your own there.

Okay, I used a package of frozen raspberries, which I thawed in a bowl. 

Raspberries are wonderful for fruit sauces served with dessert.  Their tartness is a nice contrast to the sweetness of the main dessert component, whatever that may be.  And the color is gorgeous. 

Once they've thawed (if they were frozen), you need to strain the.  Place a mesh strainer over another bowl and pour the raspberries into the strainer.  With the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula, scrape and press and stir the raspberries around until you've strained all the juice out and into the bowl below, and all you have left are seeds and maybe some of the bits of skin from the berries.

Here's what you've got left:

Beautiful color, huh?

So now you taste it.  And depending on how the puree tastes, you may want to add a bit of sugar to sweeten it a little, and maybe some lemon juice, which will give the raspberry flavor just a bit more oomph and brighness.

And that's all there is to it.  Put this in the fridge until you're ready to use it.  Serve it with ice cream or with something...something chocolate, perhaps.