From turnips, rutebegas to broccoli, any vegetable can become a coulis

You’ve probably encountered the term coulis, pronounced “cool-ee.”

It became trendy a few years back and has now settled in.

In most cases, it means that your entree or dessert will arrive sitting on top of a velvety-smooth, delicately flavored sauce made from a particular vegetable or fruit. It’s a preparation in its own right. But that’s not how it started out.

Originally, such purees were used in the context of soup, and included rice to give extra body to the soup. However, like most cooking traditions that get adopted by the masses, the coulis concept has become a bit fuzzy around the edges.

Now the term typically applies to a vegetable or fruit puree. You can call it a puree, you can call it a sauce, or you can call it a coulis.

Just about any fruit or vegetable can become a coulis. But the vegetables of fall are particularly amenable to the conversion.

For example, I like to roast red peppers over a burner or grill them just until their shiny surface has blistered. Then I peel and chop them, and soften them in a saute pan with a bit of olive oil and fresh chopped garlic.

Once the peppers and garlic are buttery-soft, I add a bit of chicken broth and cream and simmer just a few more minutes before gently pureeing the mixture in my food processor. If I’m making a large batch I simply grab my hand-held blender and puree everything right in the pot.

Turnips, rutabagas and kohlrabi are also really good vegetables to puree, and taste particularly delicious when added to mashed potatoes.

Surprisingly, broccoli is another vegetable that’s worthy of consideration, but it definitely needs to be paired up with a starchier vegetable like potatoes to retain a smooth puree. Just don’t overcook the broccoli — saute only until it’s tender — or the color will turn.

As an example of a particularly clever and delicious approach to the concept, I’m sharing one of my favorite coulis recipes.

It was created by Portland chef Paul Beppler in the mid-1990s for the National Beef Cook-off. It won him a gold medal in the professional cooking division.

I sampled the winning dish.

I had encountered Beppler on the set of a Portland TV show a month after he’d returned from New York City with his gold medal.

He was preparing his winning recipe for the live broadcast.

When his 10-minute segment was over, the program’s host, fork and plate in hand, made a beeline for Beppler’s masterpiece. I was on the host’s heels, elbowing him gently out of the way so I could sample the fabulous-smelling potato coulis.

I had a chance to talk with the chef about his special sauce. He said it had started out as a German potato salad, which will give you an idea of the extraordinary rich yet zesty flavors this dish contained, from smoky bacon and beef stock to the zingy horseradish, vinegar and mustard counterpoints.

He had entered the dish in the previous year’s contest without success. But in that version, the potato salad was just that: chunks of potatoes in a tangy sauce. For the winning year, he took a potato masher to the salad and finished it by adding a bit more broth, sour cream and oil. Then he labeled it a potato coulis, “which was a lot classier than calling it potato sauce,” he said with a laugh.

He created this delectable sauce to accompany his Grand Ronde Valley Beef Tenderloin (recipe follows). But it’s the kind of sauce which is equally delicious on more humble cuts of meat, including a simple roasted pork, for example.

The amount of oil called for in this recipe may seem excessive to you, but Beppler says it’s needed to achieve the velvety texture.

You wouldn’t eat this every day, but an occasional splurge seems justifiable.

Potato coulis

3pounds baking potatoes, skin on

12ounces bacon, diced

4tablespoons vinegar

2tablespoons yellow mustard

1tablespoon prepared horseradish

2-1/2cups (20 ounces) beef stock

3/4cup canola oil

1medium onion, peeled and chopped

1/4cup chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2cup sour cream

Garnish:

6 tablespoons butter

6 ears corn on the cob (cleaned)

Grated fresh horseradish (available in the produce section)

1cup chopped chives

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from heat, drain and let cool until they can be handled.

Meanwhile, saute the diced bacon until crisp; drain and set aside. Peel the cooled potatoes, then halve lengthwise and slice 1/2-inch thick.

While the potatoes are still warm, add the diced bacon, vinegar, mustard, prepared horseradish, 1/4 cup of the oil, the onion and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and mash the mixture with a potato masher

Do not use a food processor or hand-held mixer or the sauce will become “gluey” in texture.

Place the mixture in a saucepan and whip in remaining 1/2 cup of oil and the sour cream.

Adjust the seasoning and keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.

For the garnish: Melt the butter in an appropriate size pan and place the ears of corn in the butter.

Slowly roast the corn, turning as the kernels become golden. Remove, let cool slightly, then remove the corn from the cob with a sharp knife and keep warm.

When ready to serve the coulis, pool a generous 1/2-cup of the warm sauce onto each of 6 plates. On each serving, spoon about 1/4-cup of the roasted corn over the sauce, sprinkle liberally with chives and horseradish.

Slice the appropriate roasted meat into appropriate serving sizes and place a serving in the center of the coulis on each plate and serve.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

This is the recipe that won a gold medal in the professional cooking division of the National Beef Cook-off for Portland chef Paul Beppler back in the mid-1990s.

There are a few more steps involved than most cooks appreciate.

However, the results are delicious, and so wonderful with the potato coulis accompaniment that I decided a few of you just might want to give it a try.

Poached fillet of beef grand ronde

5pound beef tenderloin

1-1/2cups julienned carrot

2cups julienned celery root

1-1/2cups julienned leeks

2cups sliced shallots

1gallon of water

1egg white

2ounces whole grain mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Trim away the narrow “chain” of beef at the end of the tenderloin and reserve.

To make a fine julienne of the carrots and celery root, use a mandoline if you have it. Otherwise, you’ll have to create the small match-stick sized pieces with a sharp chef’s knife. After cutting the leeks into julienne, blanch them briefly in a pot of boiling water; drain well.

Mix all of the vegetables together and set aside.

Start a beef stock with the gallon of water, the reserved beef trimmings and any of the vegetable trimmings left from the julienne.

With a fork, gently whip the egg white until it is foamy, then mix in the mustard. Spread this mixture over the beef fillet and season with salt and pepper.

Next you’ll need a large piece of heavy-duty cling film plastic wrap. Choose one that is recommended for use in a microwave oven, which means that it will be sturdy enough for poaching in the beef stock.

Spread a layer of the vegetable julienne down on the plastic wrap, then place the beef on top. Roll the vegetables around the beef, enclosing the entire roll in the plastic as you press and roll the vegetables to the surface of the beef.

Twist the ends of the plastic so the roll is tightly secured. If you have access to butcher’s netting (most of us don’t), secure the roll with it at this point.

Otherwise, tie the ends of the plastic with string so it will not come undone during poaching.

Bring the beef stock to a boil and place the rolled tenderloin in the stock. Cover, reduce heat to a gentle simmer, and poach the roll for approximately 35 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. Remove the roll from the stock and let it rest on a platter for about 15 minutes before unrolling and slicing.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

This is a lovely sauce that is wonderful with vegetable custards, or with cooked eggs, or grilled fish, pork, or poultry.

Red pepper coulis

11/2pounds sweet red peppers, roasted (directions follow)

1/2teaspoon finely minced jalapeno pepper

1/4cup chopped onion

1tablespoon minced garlic

2tablespoons olive oil

3/4cup boiling chicken broth

1/4cup heavy cream (more as needed)

Up to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, as needed

Salt and white pepper to taste

Over medium-low heat, saute the peppers, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until they are heated through. Cover the pot and sweat until the vegetables are softened. Add the broth and cream, then simmer until the sauce is reduced to the point at which there is no free liquid visible on the bottom of the pan, which will take about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor. For the most creamy-velvety texture, press the mixture through a sieve.

To thin the sauce, add a little boiling broth or cream. To thicken, continue cooking the puree over moderate heat until it reaches the desired consistency.

Adjust the flavors by finishing with some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. The coulis may be used immediately, or cooled and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Makes about 2 cups.

To roast and peel the peppers: Roast the peppers under a broiler, on a grill, or over the open flame of a gas burner, turning until all sides are blistered and blackened.

Place the peppers in a plastic bag to cool, allowing the steam to loosen the skin. Remove from the bag and peel/scrape away the skin. Remove stems and seeds.

Recipe adapted from “Techniques of Healthy Cooking,” by the Culinary Institute of America.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail, at janrd@proaxis.com.