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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 (172g) Recipe makes 4 servings
Calories 171
Calories from Fat 131		(76%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 14.7g	22%
	Saturated Fat 9.2g	45%
	Monounsaturated Fat 3.8g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 38mg		12%
Sodium 284mg		11%
Potassium 307mg		8%
Total Carbohydrate 10.7g		3%
	Dietary Fiber 1.7g	6%
	Sugars 6.8g
Protein 1.6g		3%
detailed view... how is this calculated?

The Simplest Tomato Sauce Ever (Marcella Hazan)

Recipe #273976 | 50 min | 5 min prep | add private note

⁽²⁵⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: MarraMamba
Dec 26, 2007

In its very simplicity lie the secrets. This sauce is incredible. It has 3 ingredients, and no chopping. The amateurgourmet calls it Marcella Hazan's CRAZY tomato sauce. This is not your thick pasty sauce, it is a light luscious wonder. Add garlic or basil or mozzarella to it as you choose but try it this way first. The butter..DON'T switch to olive oil, it makes the sauce.

SERVES 4 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

2 cups canned plum tomatoes (whole, peeled, chopped, with their juices about one 28-oz. can)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
salt, to taste

Directions

1
Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a medium saucepan.
2
Add a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free from the tomato.
3
Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and salt as needed.
4
Discard the onion.

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Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Raspberri_Skies

On Jan 19, 2010

I have been making this for years and still love it. It's cheap, easy and delicious! I agree try it exactly as written the first time, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how good it is like that. I think the most important thing is add enough salt/pepper ( I add a little sugar) at the beginning. It gives the extra liquid the salt creates time to cook out. I have made it and kept the onion in and and have removed it- I definitely prefer it removed as the flavor of the onion is now in the sauce and the onion is pretty flavorless by that point.

0 people found this review helpful

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From: Redsie

On Dec 21, 2009

Was missing some tomato sauce for a recipe - so glad I found your recipe!! So easy and oh so tasty!! Only change I made was to use diced tomatoes. Thanks!

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From: JeriBinNC

On Jul 29, 2008

This really shouldn't be as good as it is. It's too simple. But it is very, very good. Of course I tasted it as it was simmering and thought it was good, but once it was done and sitting atop some pasta with a sprinkling of freshly-grated romano cheese--oh, my! That's when it really became clear just what a wonderful little sauce this is. I loved it on pasta but can also imagine it over zucchini, or fried eggplant, or herb-marinated chicken. So simple but so delicious! A definite keeper.

5 people found this review helpful

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From: bluemoon downunder

On Jul 25, 2008

SO glad to have found this wonderfully simple recipe for such a superbly flavoursome tomato sauce. I never use the chemical-laden commercial sauces, and this so-easy-to-make recipe is so much tastier than just using a can of tomatoes. I chopped my onion as I decided in advance to leave it in the sauce and, like MC Baker, and for the same reasons, I added garlic - 3 cloves chopped - in step two, and basil towards the end of step two. I also added a cup of wine, as the tomatoes I use don't have a lot of liquid which is great: it leaves room for some wine! Made for New Zaar Stars Tag. Thank you MarraMamba for a recipe I know that I'll be using again and again. On this occasion we used it with meatloaf.

4 people found this review helpful

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