Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce

This simple and sumptuous pasta sauce is so easy and so wonderful, you will find yourself making excuses to have pasta again and again. I make it so often, I feel obliged to share it with you just in case you haven’t heard of Marcella Hazan or tasted famous sauce. My dear friend Cortney Carman gave me Marcella Hazan’s The Essential’s of Classic Italian Cooking years ago for my birthday and I am never looked back. The book is full of simple, classic recipes that will keep you coming back from more ideas of how to use fresh ingredients to delight anyone who sits at your table.

This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta and takes about an hour to make, start to finish with the 45 minutes of cooking time included.

Gather these ingredients and get to work. In no time you will have a sweet and rich sauce.

• 2 cups fresh sweet tomatoes, in addition to their juices or a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes

• 5 tablespoons sweet butter

• 1 onion, peeled and cut in half

• Salt

Here’s how you bring it all together.

• Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.

• 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.

• Remove the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta but don’t discard it. I like to include a piec of the stewed onion on each plate.

This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta. Serve with crusty bread and finely shredded parmesan cheese.