Weekend Kitchen: Marcella Hazen's Tomato Sauce

This recipe will quite possibly be the easiest and most delicious tomato sauce you will ever make.  And it only has three ingredients.  Intrigued?  I was.  I kept running into this recipe all over the web and finally gave it a try.  Smitten Kitchen loved it, The Amateur Gourmet said every home cook needs to know about this recipe, and Orangette posted about it way back in 2007!

The recipe is from Marcella Hazen.  See original recipe here and learn a little bit about Marcella here.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups tomatoes, with their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano or Italian Style whole peeled tomatoes)

- 5 tablespoons butter

- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

- Salt, to taste

- Parmesan, freshly grated (optional)

- 1 lb of pasta of your choice

Directions:

1.  Add the tomatoes, their juices, butter, and onion halves to a medium size saucepan.  Add a pinch or two of salt.  Break up the tomatoes with a knife.

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 onion pieces.  Toss cooked pasta with sauce until pasta is coated.  Serve with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.  Enjoy!

I told you that was easy!  And the flavor is amazing, especially considering there are only three ingredients.  Comfort food at its finest.  Hazen's cookbooks are now on my wish list - see them here.