smittenkitchen
Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
If you haven’t yet experienced the magic of Marcella Hazan’s three-ingredient tomato sauce, there is no time like today.
👥 4 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 50 min👤 deb📖 smittenkitchen
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pot
- ●saucepan
- ●wooden spoon
- ●knife
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Make the sauce: Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about ⏱️ 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon or against the bottom of the pot with a potato masher, to get your desired texture. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.
(70 grams) unsalted butter5 tablespoonsSalt to taste(455 grams) spaghetti or another dried pasta [To finish]1 pound
2
To finish: Cook pasta in well-salted water until one minute shy of done. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Add spaghetti to pot with tomato sauce and toss to coat, cooking for ⏱️ 1 minute together. Add reserved pasta water, if needed, a splash at a time, to loosen the sauce.
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Serve with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.
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The pasta shape shown here is
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fusilli col buco
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this brand
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another option
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If you cannot find whole tomatoes in a can, I’ve also made it with a can of tomato puree. You will need a little less simmering time as the tomatoes are already broken down.
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This fits well in a 3-quart saucepan, but a wider 4-quart (such as
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my favorite braiser
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) makes it easier to toss the pasta in at the end.
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In the 16 (!) years since I shared this recipe, the single most contentious part of it remains the suggestion that you discard the onion at the end. The onion is sweet and full of flavor. Many people prefer to blend it and stir it back into the sauce. Others simply eat it with a fork and knife like a decadent side dish. One person told me she smooshes it on a toasted baguette with burrata and a drizzle of balsamic and I’ve never forgotten this. Do you have a favorite way to use it? Let me know in the comments.
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