Marcella Hazan's Famous Tomato Sauce Is the Only One I'll Ever Make. [View all]

((Not really, not ME! Misplaced my recipe years ago.))

No need to peel or core your tomatoes. In fact, this tomato sauce requires zero cooking skills and just three basic ingredients.

The recipe comes from legendary cookbook author and Italian cooking expert Marcella Hazan. Tomatoes, a sweet yellow onion, and butter are cooked low and slow, yielding a sauce that's shockingly easy to make and so delicious.

I'm a busy mom who is never without jars of store-bought tomato sauce in my pantry, and this is the only homemade version I'll make from scratch. Not only does it taste heavenly, the recipe has so much going for it. It dirties just one pot and calls for three budget-friendly ingredients. The sauce is easy to double or triple to meal plan or feed a crowd. It requires zero cooking skills—just throw the ingredients in a pot and let them simmer. I've made this tomato sauce so many times that I have it memorized.

The original recipe calls for 2 cups of canned tomatoes (or blanched, peeled, and chopped tomatoes) simmered with a halved yellow onion, 5 tablespoons of butter, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt for about 1 hour. The tomatoes are smashed as they cook and the onions are removed and discarded at the end. (Take a look at this amazing story and illustration about Hazan in the New York Times.)

It’s delicious as written, but over the 20 years I’ve been making it, I’ve simplified the recipe even more. My way cuts the prep time to zero, doesn’t waste the onions, and creates a smooth sauce that clings to spaghetti like two people in love.

I place six large tomatoes (about 2 pounds), a yellow onion peeled and cut in half, and 5 tablespoons of salted butter in a pot. Because peeling and coring tomatoes is annoying, I don’t and it’s so good all the same. And if the tomatoes are frozen, I don't defrost them either as you can see in the image below. If using unsalted butter, I add 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

Every time I've made this tomato sauce, I've thought: Maybe I should add garlic, basil, black pepper, or a little pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. And when I do, I regret it afterward. This recipe is best with just the ingredients it calls for. The sweet onions and the fat from the butter are simply a magical match for the tomatoes.'>>>

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/marcella-hazan-tomato-sauce-7962977?