Raspberry Puree

Raspberry puree - It comes off as fancy, but like so many of my other tricks, it couldn't be simpler. It's a wonderful compliment to many things; as a coulis under a slice of flourless chocolate torte, drizzled over pound cake, or vanilla ice cream. I have put it in an ice cream machine before, and it magically turns into the best raspberry sorbet - smooth and tangy. To be honest my favorite way to eat it is straight out of the bowl, right off the spoon. In this morning's brunch, we layered it in a yogurt granola parfait. For a great granola recipe, check out this prior posting.

I love to use frozen raspberries in this recipe because it creates a frothy texture in the final product that wouldn't happen if you used fresh or thawed.



Raspberry Puree:
(this recipe can be doubled)

In the food processor combine one large bag (10-12 oz) of frozen raspberries with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/8 cup water. Pulse until the mixture has the appearance of a sorbet. If it gets very stiff, add a few more tablespoons of water and pulse again. At this point, taste the mixture - you might need to add more sugar. If needed, add two tablespoons at a time, pulsing again, and tasting after each addition. You can always add more, but you can't take it out. Each batch of raspberries will have a different degree of tartness - so there really isn't a static amount of sugar for this recipe.

Pour this mixture into a fine sieve over a bowl. With the back of a large soup spoon, push the mixture through. The sieve will catch the seeds and the puree will go through into the bowl. This is probably the most difficult and surely the most time consuming part of this recipe.

Kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this puree will last at least a week.