Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
by Walter Bosstick
Story
Marcella Hazan, the godmother of Italian cooking in America, frequently said that if you want to be a good Italian cook, you had to be able to make a good Sugo di Pomodoro. One that captures the simple elegeance of the tomato. This recipe is Ms. Hazan's famous sauce as it appeared in her 1992 publucation, The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. When I first got serious about learning how to make good Italian food, I made this sauce three or four time a week for a month. After two weeks my kids would greet this dish when it came to the table with a whine of 'not this again'. However, I will tell you that the sauce I made in the fourth week was much different than the one I made in the first week. I cannot tell you exactly what changed because I was always using same ingredients. But at the end my sauces were lighter, more vibrant, and fresher tasting. I've been making it since 1973 and still is a delight. This is Marcella's famous sauce.
Ingredients
- 28 oz Canned, peeled Tomatoes (Crushed by hand)
- 5 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 1 piece Medium, Onion (Peeled and cut in half)
- 1 1/4 tsp Unsalted Butter
Steps
- Add the tomatoes, butter, onion halves, and salt. Cook, uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for 45 minutes or until the fat floats free from the tomatoes. (See note). Taste amd correct for salt.
- Note: With modern stoves, 45 minutes is usually too long. I have found 20-25 minutes at a slow simmer will produce the desired results.
You can check by doing the spatula test. Drag a spatula through the middle of the sauce to create a trough. If the sauce runs back into the trough quickly the sauce is too thin. If it slowly fills in the trough it is done. Typically 20-25 minutes will do the trick.
Tip: After doing this for decades, I usually undercook the sauce, taking it off the heat after 15-20 minutes. I do the final cooking when I add the pasta along with another tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce.