This savory sauce takes only a few minutes to make and turns a simple entrée into something elegant.

What is it best used for? It’s excellent on chicken, duck, quail, squab, lamb, and fish. And it’s lovely on hearts of palm cutlets, tofu steaks, and vegetarian meat substitutes. In other words, on just about anything. With a few herbs and spices, you can vary it to suit any flavor profile you’d like to create.

Even though this is a savory sauce, raspberries can be very tart, so you’ll want to add some sugar. Use more or less to appeal to your personal taste.

Here’s How

Basic Ingredients:

• a 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon sweet butter or Earth Balance bar

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• a few sprigs of rosemary and/or thyme

• a tiny pinch of salt

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon Chambord or Framboise Liqueur, or white wine, or 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or Gran Gala for a hint of orange. (optional)

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water (optional, for a thicker sauce)

Extras:

• whole spices such as a small knob of ginger, a few allspice, cinnamon, or juniper berries, or a few crushed cardamom pods.

Method:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the frozen raspberries with the sugar and a teeny tiny pinch of salt. (The salt brings out the natural flavor of the fruit without making it salty.)

• Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the berries break down.

• Add any wine or liqueur that you’d like to use.

• Add the herbs and any spices you’d like to use.

• Then simmer for 5 minutes over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little water—up to ¼ cup. Remove the pot from the heat and cover it to keep it warm. Let it sit for 15-30 minutes.

• Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of fresh herbs and whole spices. Purée the sauce with an immersion blender, or transfer to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.

• Place a wire mesh strainer over a bowl and push the raspberry sauce through the strainer with the back of a spoon, to remove the seeds.

• Return the raspberry sauce to the pot.

• Add the cornstarch and water if you’d like a thicker, shiny sauce. Be sure to bring it back to a boil so that the cornstarch can do its thickening thing, and the sauce doesn’t taste like raw cornstarch. It’s very important to stir it constantly so that you don’t end up with nasty lumps of cornstarch. You can also thin the sauce by adding a little hot water, as needed.

• Remove the raspberry sauce from the heat and stir in the butter and vinegar. Serve warm, as a decorative drizzle on the plate, and/or over any of the above suggestions, with extra sauce in a small pitcher or bowl on the side.