Tomato sauce with butter and onion

This tomato sauce with onion and butter is from Marcella Hazan is astonishingly simple and delicious. It’s been posted a million times on various food blogs and raved about countless times, but that’s no reason not to do so again. I’ve made this sauce many times over the years, it reminds me of the spaghetti sauce my mum used to make when I was a kid. (I think it’s the butter) It’s the easiest sauce in the world to bring together – Throw two cans of tomatoes, a good hunk of butter and an onion into a medium saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes. That’s it. Remove the onion and you are ready to go. You can make this sauce when you are brain-dead with weariness and can’t think of a thing to cook. It’s the ultimate in comfort food, lush and buttery. Perfect for small children but loved by all.

Tomato sauce with butter and onion

Adapted from Marcella Hazan Essentials of Italian Cooking

Serves 4-6

Makes enough sauce to coat about 500 grams of spaghetti

• 2x 400 gram cans of whole tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons (70 grams) butter
• 1 onion peeled and cut into half cross wise
• salt to taste

Place tomatoes, butter and onion in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and crush tomatoes against side of the pan. After about 45 minutes the butter will separate slightly from the tomatoes and glimmer. The sauce is then done. Remove onion and salt to taste.