I have to pass along the world’s simplest, super-yummy dish:
Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, based on a recipe by the renowned Italian
cookbook author Marcella Hazan. I’m sure
everyone else in the world knows her recipes, making me late to this party…but better
late than never!
The New York Times Magazine ran an appreciation of her on
Sunday, accompanied by several recipes, with some mouth-watering
photographs. But this one in particular
really caught my eye, since it looked suspiciously easy. Three ingredients plus salt and spaghetti
noodles? Canned tomatoes? I could
make this without going to the grocery store?
Sign me up!
I can’t speak to the magical chemistry that is the
combination of canned tomatoes and butter—I can only speak to the fact that
there is, indeed, magic in this dish and that you MUST make it
immediately. You could serve this at a
dinner party and everyone would rave.
You could eat the whole pan all by yourself…which is what Steve and I
did.
My only caution is that quality matters here, and that you
really do need the better canned tomatoes (which are worth the extra $ anyway).
I used a whole can of diced San Marzano—white label with a silhouette of
tomatoes.
Here’s the piece
in the Magazine, and here’s the easiest version of the recipe and its
link to the New York Times (with a hilarious correction at the end):
TOMATO SAUCE WITH ONION AND BUTTER
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups tomatoes, with their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
- Salt
PREPARATION
1. Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the
onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.
2. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook,
uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of
tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.
3. Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.
This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
~Recipe by Marcella
Hazan