Best tomato sauce for pasta ever

[Shoxfordian]

In case you haven't tried it

www.thekitchn.com/marcella-hazans-amazing-4ingre-144538

It's basically 1 tin of tomatoes cooked on a medium heat with half an onion and 5 tablespoons of butter for 45 minutes or so. A bit of stirring now and then.

It's so so good. Really rich and delicious. We didn't have anything else with it, just parmesan and pasta. Yum.

I love tomato and pasta together.
Delia does a lovely classic tomato for pasta, it’s very time consuming though.
I’ll give yours a go, thanks.

I thought everyone made Tom sauce this way.I add herbs for pasta,plain on burritos,nice with the Quorn or mince meat balls.
For a smooth sauce use passata.

Nothing wrong with tinned tomatoes but try making a sauce with fresh cherry tomatoes instead. Even more yummy!

Why do my tomato sauces taste so tangy? I've tried adding sugar but it neer does the trick. I normally fry garlic, onion and chilli and then add tinned tomatoes. It's okay but nothing to write home about. Will def try butter.

I have been using Marcella's recipe for years and years! It is so insanely basic and easy, I think most people don't believe it can be that pure and delicious. The sugar in the onions is what balances the acidity from the tomatoes, and it is so wonderful! I love it on my homemade pizza, and just cook it down longer to make a thicker sauce for the pizza.

@Saavhi

Frying garlic can make it bitter if done too long, so that may definitely be adding to the tangy issue. I would simply put the garlic in with the tomatoes and cook them together. The butter will add a gorgeous layer of richness.

5 tablespoons of butter

Does it work with passata as opposed to tinned tomatoes?

@Crunchymum

No, you need the volume and liquid of the tinned tomatoes because it cooks down quite a bit.

This is my favourite tomato sauce ever! I do it a lot in the winter, though tend to do a lighter one with basil, olive oil and balsamic in high summer.

I'm sure 5 tablespoons of butter would make many things taste better

5 tablespoons of butter? Really? Is this a typo?

How much do 5 tblsp of butter weigh?

75g I think is 5 tablespoons

This is The tomato sauce. All the (decent) restaurants I’ve worked in use this recipe for the base of their tomato sauces.

It’s even better if you add a ladle of pasta water to it once fishing the onion out and finish cooking your spaghetti in the sauce.

Don’t be afraid of butter! It’s what makes it so smooth and eliminates the tartness of the tomatoes.

This sounds so easy !
Can it be batched cooked and frozen ?
Sorry that may sound stupid ...but it was the butter bit that made me think ?

@bizzey

I have frozen countless batches of it over the years. Perfect every time. I'm excited for you to try it!

Meant to add, you can include the onion or discard it at the end, up to you. It may disintegrate a bit but that doesn't matter.

Sorry about the butter but I didn't say it was a healthy sauce...

I also have been using this recipe for decades (her cookbook was one of the first I purchased). It is so easy, reliable and adaptable.

Is there other good stuff in the recipe book? I'm tempted to buy it

I can’t get past 5 tablespoons of butter

Do you chop the onion?

To be fair, you could add 5 tablespoon s of butter to anything and it would be magnificent. I'd have to order in the firemen now to get me out the house when I become too fat to walk :)

It's all natural healthy stuff though, better butter than chemicals.

I haven't tried this because I've heard such good reviews about it. I know I'd eat it all the time and be the size of a house.

I use olive oil rather than butter, and add garlic and fresh basil if I have it or dried Italian herbs if I haven't. The key things are time on the hob and decent tomatoes (the best are canned cherry tomatoes!)