Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce
There has never been an easy pasta sauce recipe easier than this pasta sauce-- on this you have my word. And what’s better is that just because this pasta sauce is easy doesn’t mean it’s not delicious. Keep reading for instructions on how to throw this yummy sauce together!
Servings 4
Calories 243kcal
Equipment
- Pot(s)
Ingredients
- 28 oz petite diced tomatoes
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small white onion peeled and halved
- ½ tsp black pepper optional
- ½ tbsp dry basil optional
- ½ tsp onion powder optional
- ½ tsp garlic powder optional
Instructions
- Combine the 28 oz petite diced tomatoes, ¾ tsp kosher salt, and the optional spices (½ tsp black pepper, ½ tbsp dry basil, ½ tsp onion powder and ½ tsp garlic powder) in a medium pan over low-medium heat. Mix to evenly distribute the spices.
- Add the 6 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 small white onion into the sauce.
- Leave uncovered and allow the sauce to simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the sauce to slightly bubble, but take care to not let it burn.
- Before serving, remove the onions. You can cut the onions up and add them back into the sauce if you’d like, though this makes the sauce a bit chunkier. I opt to keep the onions out of the sauce but reserve the onions for things like adding to scrambled eggs, sandwiches, tacos, etc.
- Use an immersion blender to make the sauce smoother if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
- The optional spices are not part of Marcella Hazan's original recipe. Her recipe just calls for the tomatoes, butter, onions, and salt. However, I like them so I wanted to give you the option to add them if you desire!
- Canned Tomatoes: I use Petite Diced size. You could also use canned crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes. Look for good tomatoes like San Marzano tomatoes or fresh plum tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, make sure to peel, core, and dice them before adding to the recipe.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted, but I think that unsalted butter gives you a better opportunity to control the salt in the recipe.
- Onion: A sweet onion is best!
- The simplicity of this recipe demands high-quality ingredients. Don’t try to substitute the butter or use bargain brand tomatoes. Stick to the good stuff for the best final product.
- The cooking process is another secret to this recipe. Low and slow is the name of the game.
- As long as you stick to the core, high-quality ingredients you can switch up this sauce however you want. You could use leeks instead of onion or add some roasted cloves of garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes or fresh herbs. The sky's the limit!
- Feel free to play with the texture of your sauce. You could enjoy it as it or use a potato masher or food processor for a thinner sauce. If you like large pieces of tomato, use whole tomatoes.
- It is absolutely possible to use fresh, whole tomatoes for Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce but it takes a little more prep work and you may want to finish the sauce with an immersion blender.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 707mg | Potassium: 696mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 967IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg