Coulis is the French word for "strained liquid" and that is exactly what it is.The base of a coulis can be from a fruit or a vegetable and it is used in a variety of dishes ranging from roasts to the most decadent desserts. When making a fruit coulis you can used the fruit either fresh or cook it, but when making a vegetable coulis, the veggies normally have to be roasted or cooked first.

I love making a berry coulis, simply because the colors of the berries are just so beautiful and intense and it can brighten up any old dessert even a simple bowl of ice-cream.


I have been following Donal Skehan's blog, The Good Mood Food Blog, for some time now and when I read his post on how to make your own Blackberry Coulis this morning, I was all inspired to make use of the abundance of strawberries that we are having now. I always try and make large quantities of the stuff in summer when we have so many different kinds of fruit available. Coulis really freeze well and sometimes it is just wonderful to eat over a stack of steaming hot waffles during winter. So for my strawberry coulis, I used the following!


500gr strawberries - stems removed and sliced
125ml caster sugar
100ml water
1 vanilla pod - whole

Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then remove the vanilla pod. Pour the contents of the pot into a blender and blitz until you have a purée. Strain the purée through a sieve, using the back of a wooden spoon. Keep chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze in plastic containers.
I used my coulis to make a delicious, super-easy Strawberry ice-cream. What you need is this:

2 liters good quality vanilla ice-cream
all the purée that you have just made, except about 125ml for drizzling over the top..

Here's how....

Spoon ice-cream into a big bowl and let it thaw slightly. Add the coulis and with your spoon or spatula, work the coulis into the ice-cream. Freeze it in the same ice-cream tub or make individual servings like I did. Serve with more berries and a drizzle some more of the coulis over the top.

Thank you Donal, You inspired me today and for that I am grateful!!!