With frozen berries in the freezer, you can always make this quick sauce for dessert for cheesecake, ice cream, frozen yogurt, or cake. It works equally as well for breakfast with pancakes and waffles, French toast, even swirled into plain Greek-style yogurt and oatmeal.
1teaspoonarrowroot or cornstarchto thicken the cooked sauce
1-2tablespoonsberry liqueur such as Chambord or Cassisfor an adult dessert sauce
Instructions
Wash fresh strawberries, slice off the top, then chop into small pieces.
Uncooked Strawberry Coulis
Place chopped strawberries in a high-speed blender and puree with the lemon juice and sweetener until it's smooth. Set a fine sieve over a bowl, pour in pureed berries, and push the berries through to remove seeds. A ladle works best, or a large spoon. Taste and adjust the sweetness level if needed with a little more sweetener.
Cooked Strawberry Coulis
Place the chopped berries in a medium saucepan with the lemon juice and sweetener. A pan called a saucier works great as it has sloped sides. Bring the berries to a simmer over medium heat, turn the heat down, put a lid on the pan, and cook 8-10 minutes until the berries are broken down and juicy. If you want to thicken the sauce, do it at this time.
To thicken the cooked sauce, add the starch to 2 teaspoons of cold water and mix until smooth. Stir this into the simmering berries. Cook another 1-2 minutes for the starch to do it's work. Puree the berries and strain for a smoother sauce if desired. Serve warm or cold.
Strawberry coulis keeps 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well.
Notes
Yields: The fresh sauce recipe yields 1 ½ cups of strawberry coulis. The cooked version yields 1 cup. Another difference in volume will be if you strain or not. The color of the final sauce may also vary a little depending on how ripe and red your strawberries are. For an adult dessert sauce, add a tablespoon or two of a berry liqueur, such as Framboise, Chambord, or Cassis.