Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

This is a recipe for the first component of a great recipe that I will present for your New Year's Day breakfast or brunch. So, what exactly is a coulis? A coulis (pronounced kool-ee) is nothing more than a fancy French name for a thick sauce made from pureed vegetables or fruit that has been strained. This is the base sauce for the brunch dish but is an excellent and a very versatile sauce on its own. It is great as a condiment for most proteins, like beef, chicken or pork, or as a sauce for vegetables. It is a very simple sauce to make and can be made ahead of time for the upcoming special dish. I hope you enjoy.

Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Ingredients:

2 cups red pepper, roasted

2 tsp. olive oil, reserve 1 tsp.

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro or 1 tsp. dried cilantro

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400'

Seed the red peppers and cut into strips. Place on a sheet pan and toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have blackened slightly. Remove and set aside.

Preheat a medium sauce pan and add the remaining olive oil. Cook the onions and garlic on medium high until translucent. Add the roasted red peppers and herbs. Stir to combine. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has been reduced by about one third and has thickened.

Carefully pour the sauce into a blender. Remove the small cap from the cover so that the steam can escape and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper if desired and pulse to combine. Pour sauce through a strainer and into a container and store in refrigerator for up to four days.

Nutrition Facts

10 - 2 Tablespoon Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 101.1

Total Fat 9.8 g

Saturated Fat 5.6 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g

Monounsaturated Fat 3.2 g

Cholesterol 32.6 mg

Sodium 10.0 mg

Potassium 87.96 mg

Total Carbohydrate 3.2 g

Dietary Fiber 0.7 g

Sugars 1.1 g

Protein 0.9 g

Note ~ A reduced fat version of this sauce can be made by using vegetable spray in place of the olive oil and substituting fat free half and half for the heavy cream. This will greatly reduce the calories, fat and cholesterol for the same portion size and slightly increase the carbs as follows:

Calories 25.3

Total Fat 0.4 g

Cholesterol 1.2 mg

Net Carbohydrate 4.0 g