A coulis is a sauce made from fruit that is cooked down into a thick syrup and then strained. I came up with this recipe one Christmas when I wanted cranberries in the meal, but didn't want to do any of the ordinary things like cranberry relish or what's typically called cranberry sauce. This is sweet and tart and is marvelous on roasted poultry (duck, chicken, turkey, goose) as well as pork. (Larger image.) Makes 1 cup.
Ingredients:
- 6 oz. cranberries; picked over
- 1 lg. orange; zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 cup orange liqueur (Triple Sec, Cointreau, Grand Marnier)
Preparation:
1. You should have about a cup of fresh orange juice, if not, add water (or more orange juice to bring to 1 cup).
2. Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan including orange zest but excluding liqueur and simmer until berries burst; 15 - 18 minutes.
3. Add liqueur and process in a blender or food processor until pureed. (Note, this is a case where I love my immersion blender {compare prices}) because it minimizes cleanup.)
4. Warm before serving.
Note: This coulis can be made a couple of days in advance and it also freezes well and you can rewarm it in the microwave after thawing.
