Kate's Global Kitchen: Kate's Savory-Sweet Sauce Recipes

Kate's Savory-Sweet Sauce Recipes

by Kate Heyhoe

Hot Lips Raspberry-Apricot Coulis

Broken Orange-Rosemary and Walnut Oil Drizzle

Basic Lemon Curd

Sweet Heat Pineapple Sauce

Hot Lips Raspberry-Apricot Coulis

Makes 2/3 cup

You can leave out the chipotle chile in this sweet-tart coulis, but I like the way it creeps up on you. At first, you don't even taste the spice, but then it slowly warms up, blooming at the end of the bite. It's not too hot though, just spicy enough to make dessert more interesting. It's also a good complement to roasted or smoked meats, fish, poultry and vegetables.

5 ounces fresh or thawed frozen raspberries (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile, or to taste (optional)

Sauce

1. In the work bowl/chopping attachment of a hand blender, or in a small food processor, whizz all ingredients until pureed.

2. Pour though a fine sieve, placed over a bowl, pressing down with a spatula to strain out the seeds and extract all the sauce. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled. The sauce tastes best if used the same day, but will keep 3 days refrigerated.

Sweet Ideas

Spicy Cheesecake—Place a wedge of cheesecake in the center of a plate, and drizzle the coulis over or around the cheesecake. Garnish with fresh berries.

Shortbread Cookies, Coulis, and Ice Cream—Spoon the coulis over or around a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and accompany with packaged pecan shortbread cookies (like Pecan Sandies).

Roast Duck or Pork—Spoon some sauce around a slice of roast duck or pork, or any savory recipe that tastes better with a sweet touch.

Broken Orange-Rosemary and Walnut Oil Drizzle

Makes 1/4 cup; can be doubled or tripled

Sometimes a mild sweet tooth is best sated by a light bite that borders on the savory, like fresh fruit and a cheese plate, or a fruit salad. This sauce is just right for those moments. It mixes walnut oil with intensively reduced, rosemary-infused orange juice. Like a broken vinaigrette, the reduction is meant to separate from the oil. Drizzle it around the sides of a plate for visual effect, and pour it directly over greens, goat cheese, or fruit. It's also a delightful addition to the morning breakfast tray of scones, biscuits, or nut breads.

2-3 inches fresh rosemary sprig
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons walnut oil

1. Pull off the rosemary needles from the stem and crush or bruise them with your fingers, to better release the oils. In a small pan, bring the orange juice and rosemary to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced to about 2 tablespoons (about 5 minutes), swirling the pan and scraping down the sides occasionally.

2. Pour the concentrated juice through a strainer. Press with a spatula to extract as much juice as possible, leaving the rosemary needles behind. (At this point the juice may be refrigerated up to 1 week.) Combine the juice with the walnut oil. The mixture will be "broken" and separated, and tastes best at room temperature. Drizzle on fruit, cheese, or salad. The drizzle may be used alone, or as a flavorful complement to poppyseed or other dressings.

Sweet Ideas

Poppyseed Fruit Salad with Broken Orange-Rosemary and Walnut Drizzle—Prepare a fruit salad (shredded Granny Smith apples are terrific here) on a bed of butter lettuce. Drizzle the broken sauce around the plate edges and on top of the salad. Sprinkle with poppyseeds, and toasted walnut or hazelnut pieces.

Basic Lemon Curd

Makes 2 cups

"Curd" may not be the most appealing name, but this lemon sauce tastes like summer, captured in a jar. Thick and custard-like, lemon curd is typically spread on biscuits, muffins, or scones as a morning or afternoon treat. You can also fill a cooked tart or pie shell with it and add some fresh fruit for a flashy dessert. It's the perfect "emergency sauce" because it keeps up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

For this recipe, you'll need 4 to 6 lemons to yield 1 cup of juice. To get more juice from a lemon or lime, microwave it whole for about 20 seconds on high, or roll it under your palm on a hard surface, to break open the cells of juice inside.

1 cup sugar
1 lemon's grated zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, in chunks

1. Bring about 2 inches of water to a gentle boil in a small saucepan, then reduce to a bare simmer. (If you have a double-boiler, you can use it instead of the saucepan-bowl combination described here.)

2. Whisk together the sugar, zest, and lemon juice in a bowl. Beat in the eggs. Drop in the butter.

3. Set the bowl over the simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture forms a thick sauce, about 10 minutes. The sauce is done when it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn across it leaves clean edges. (If desired, strain away any curds that may form by forcing the curd through a fine sieve.) Pour the sauce into a container. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the curd's surface. Cool and refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

Sweet Ideas

Berries, Biscotti, and Curd—Spoon berries, mixed or all one type, into small bowls. Top with a dollop of Lemon Curd and sprinkle with crumbs made from crushed biscotti (or other cookies).

Sweet Heat Pineapple Sauce

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

This sauce is bright and tangy from the vinegar, sweet from the fruit and sugar, and a little hot from the chile. Ham and pineapple go together, so try this as a novel twist on an Easter buffet. Add some mint and serve it with roast lamb, too.

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in its own juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon hot red chile flakes

Combine all ingredients (including the pineapple juice) and bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes to thicken slightly and merge the flavors. Taste, and correct the balance of the sweet/tart flavors if necessary. Serve at room temperature as a sauce for fried eggrolls or spring rolls, shrimp, baked ham, or smoked poultry.

Sweet Ideas

Serve with cream cheese or goat cheese and crackers.