I’d like to introduce you to the most amazing fruit sauce. Ever. This is the sauce that led me to a very important discovery: the secret to fruit in desserts is to not cook them – at least not all the time.
I used to strongly dislike cooked fruit. My wonderful country grandmother used to make amazing fruit pies every year for Thanksgiving… which I would skip like the snotty preteen I was, waiting until I was served the dessert of my preference. I’ve gotten over the cooked fruit aversion (see Chai Spiced Apple Cake), but sometimes, especially when spring is around the corner, I’m just craving fresh fruit, un-meddled-with.
OK… so I made this with frozen berries. HA! The hypocrisy… I’m sitting here extolling the virtues of pure, fresh fruit, and in reality, I used the same mix of berries we got from Costco and threw in our muffins last week. When life hands you Chicago, head for Costco. Costco seriously improves our fruit situation.
In reality, whether you use fresh fruit or frozen, this is the simplest, most delicious fruit sauce: a little fresh fruit, a little lemon juice for brightness, some sugar and water for balance. If your fruit is fresh enough, you probably wouldn’t even need the sugar, but you can throw it in depending on what specific fruit you are using. Strawberries work amazingly. All the ingredients just get tossed in the blender and pureéd until the mixture is saucy, and then you can run it through a strainer, if you are seed-averse.
Just to keep things interesting, this week or next (sometime soon!) I’ll be posting another recipe that marries nicely with this sauce, in case you needed another reason to make it! In the mean time, enjoy a very berry Wednesday! (And yes, I do get excited when writing these incredibly cheesy recipe titles 
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Very Berry Coulis
- 2 cups berries (about 12 ounces; quarter and hull them if needed)
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Combine berries, water, sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Coulis can be prepared one day ahead.
