Tomato Coulis

The word coulis describes any sort of smooth purée that has been strained to eliminate seeds and bits of peel. A tomato coulis is perfectly smooth and can be used alone either hot or cold, or to flavor other sauces, such as aurore and choron, mayonnaises, and beurre blanc. Depending on the quality of the tomatoes, tomato coulis can be raw or cooked. When preparing tomato coulis, you need only seed the tomatoes to eliminate excess liquid; peeling is not necessary because the skins will be strained out anyway. Tomato coulis can be used as the starting point and emulsifier for a hot or cold vinaigrette or stirred into whipped cream or crème fraîche and served as a cold sauce; mustard whisked in at the end lends a discreet tang.