Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

This is the simplest of all sauces to make, and none has a purer, more irresistibly sweet tomato taste. I have known people to skip the pasta and eat the sauce directly out of the pot with a spoon.

For 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lb fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described on page 151, or 2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
• 5 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
• salt
• 1 to 1-1/2 lb pasta
• freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for the table

Instructions

1. Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned tomatoes in a saucepan.
2. Add the butter, onion, and salt.
3. Cook uncovered at a very slow but steady simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato.
4. Stir from time to time, mashing any large pieces of tomato in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Taste and correct for salt.
6. Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.
7. Serve with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano.

Notes

• Recommended pasta: potato gnocchi, or factory-made pasta such as spaghetti, penne, or rigatoni.
• May be frozen when done. Discard the onion before freezing.

Formatted to Recipe Style Guide on 11:18, 13 December 2025 (PST) by ChatGPT