Three-Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Unctuous! Great for bread dipping! Keep the pot partially covered
to avoid "stove splatters." Notice the splatters along the edge of the pot. 

This recipe from Marcella Hazan was all over the Internet when it first appeared several years ago. Most people "swooned" over its ungarnished simplicity and taste. But, there are those who prepared it and voted it anything but "special."

Me? I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a tough time with any tomato-based sauce since my taste buds recoil at acidity and sourness.

So, in the interest of Internet made-recipes, I made it.

I enjoyed it so much, I made it several times.

This is NOT what one would call a spaghetti sauce or "gravy."

It's not going to have a ton of flavors like most spaghett sauces. But, that's the point. So, move on.

I thought maybe I'd miss garlic, but I didn't. Many people do not discard the onions but blend them in with the sauce. An immersion blender makes easy work of it if you are so prone. Most just eat it or spread it on a piece of lightly toasted bread.

My favorite way to eat this was simply dipping in pieces of torn artisan bread to hold the unctuous sauce.

And, when I paired it with meatballs, it was really all I needed. Or wanted. It complemented the savory meatballs perfectly without stealing the show the way some sauces can.

I've always added butter to my tomato sauce. It just makes it more mellow, and I'm not ready to throw out my standard, simple tomato sauce recipe for the acidic impaired. Or my jar of RAO. Or my Instant Pot recipe with pig's feet.

So, will I make it again? Yes, especially in the summer when I have fresh basil at hand. If you can your tomatoes, you may want to put up a few quarts of whole tomatoes to have on hand when the snow flies.

Since writing this, I now have access to a few "San Marzano" tomatoes which I used. They are way less acidic. A bit expensive, but worth it. And I always shower my sauce/spaghetti with a liberal grating of Parm.  You do you. 

If using fresh garden tomatoes, it is recommended you peel and de-seed them, keeping as much juice as possible. Enjoy.

The original recipe as written used eight tablespoons of butter, not five. I use six.

If you love tomatoes, you will like a spoonful of this over scrambled eggs, chunks of canned tuna fillets, slathered on gently fried gnocchi with fresh sage leaves. Lots of possibilities. 

I love a can with great, colorful graphics.
These are actually produced in Indiana
and get consistently good reviews.

• 1, 28 ounce can plum tomatoes 
• OR
• 2 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled/seeded, juice saved.
• 5 tablespoons butter (see notes above)
• 1 medium onion peeled and cut in half

Place tomatoes in a heavy pan--at least three-quarts. Add the butter and onions. Bring to a simmer, occasionally breaking up some of the tomatoes as you casually stir. Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour on simmer mode or until you notice the yellow sheen from the tomatoes releasing their fat. (I kept the pot partially covered). Remove onion.

I like the onion. A lot will simply 'melt' into the sauce. Some people blend it all up. Some people remove it and serve on the side. You do you.

Salt: If you use canned tomatoes, they may already contain salt. If using fresh, they will not. Add salt to your taste.

(Notes: It's important to use a heavy-bottomed pan. You want a good, constant simmer so the the tomatoes thicken up. Use real butter. The recipe suggests San Marzano tomatoes, but, to tell the truth, I  find some brands "watery" so use that which you are familiar and enjoy.)