Monday, May 18, 2009

A Simple, No-Fuss Tomato Sauce

No really. This is the epitome of simple. And mind-blowingly delicious.

You can't know how easy it is to make truly simple and delicious food until you've made this sauce -- then tasted it. The effort you put in is given back to you tenfold in a sauce that's bright and rich at the same time.



I love vegetables, and tomato sauces, but on their own they don't seem quite enough (this is why my stint as a vegetarian only lasted 3 months, years ago). What's missing is that fat mouth-feel. That rounded, complete, yes, this is what is filling and good, feel.

This sauce gives you that, along with an intense tomato flavor. There's nothing it in but tomatoes, a bit of salt, an onion, and the secret weapon ... butter. What, no garlic, no olive oil, no basil? It seems like a very non-traditional Italian sauce, and yet it comes from one of the most widely respected Italian cookbooks of all time, Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

It's so easy and so effortless that I can't imagine buying jarred marinara sauce again.



Marcella Hazan's Basic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
  • 1 28oz can of plum tomatoes (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
  • 1 medium onion, halved
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • salt to taste

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes. Throw the onion halves away (or if you're like me, you'll just eat them separately).

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