Marcella Hazan’s 3-ingredient tomato sauce was one of the first recipes in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking that really caught my attention. The ingredient list seemed almost too simple: canned tomatoes, butter, and an onion that gets cut in half and dropped into the pot whole.

I was especially curious about the onion. Rather than chopping and sautéing it as I normally would for a tomato sauce, Marcella has you leave the halves intact while the sauce cooks and remove them before serving. I wasn’t sure how much flavor they could add that way or whether I would miss having garlic, herbs, olive oil, or any of the other ingredients I usually associate with tomato sauce.

About 45 minutes later, I understood why the recipe works. The tomatoes had cooked down into a rich sauce, the butter had softened their acidity, and the onion had added flavor without becoming a noticeable part of the finished texture.

It also turned out to be one of the easiest sauces I’ve made. Once everything is in the pot, there is very little to do beyond occasionally stirring and crushing the tomatoes as they soften.

About This Recipe

This sauce starts differently from most tomato sauces I’ve made. The tomatoes, butter, and onion halves all go into the saucepan together, without first sautéing the onion or building a separate flavor base.

As the sauce cooks, the tomatoes soften and begin to break apart. Stir occasionally and use a wooden spoon to crush any larger pieces against the side of the pot. The butter gradually incorporates into the tomatoes while the onion flavors the sauce without becoming part of its final texture.

After about 45 minutes, the sauce should be noticeably thicker, with the fat beginning to separate slightly from the tomatoes. Remove the onion halves before tossing the sauce with pasta.

One of the things I like about this recipe is that there’s very little active work once everything is in the pan. Most of the cooking time is simply letting the tomatoes reduce until the sauce reaches the right consistency.

Ingredient Notes

1. Canned Tomatoes
I prefer using Mutti whole peeled tomatoes for this sauce. Since there are so few ingredients, the flavor of the tomatoes really matters, so I would use a brand you already like. Whole peeled tomatoes work especially well because they gradually break down as the sauce cooks while still leaving it with some texture.

2. Butter
The amount of butter was one of the things that initially surprised me about this recipe, especially since there is no olive oil. As it cooks, the butter incorporates into the tomatoes and softens some of their acidity, giving the finished sauce a richer, smoother flavor without making it taste particularly buttery.

3. Onion
Rather than chopping the onion, Marcella has you cut it in half and add both halves directly to the tomatoes. The onion flavors the sauce as it cooks but is removed before serving, so you get its sweetness and flavor without pieces of onion in the finished sauce.

The Recipe

Cooking Tip: Break Up the Tomatoes as They Cook

There’s no need to break up the whole tomatoes before adding them to the pan. As they soften during cooking, use a wooden spoon to press the larger pieces against the side of the saucepan.

I found this easier than trying to crush them all at the beginning, and it also lets you control the final texture. Keep breaking them down as the sauce cooks until you have a mostly smooth sauce with some small pieces of tomato remaining.

Serve With

• Spaghetti
• Rigatoni
• Penne
• Simple green salad
• Garlic bread or crusty bread
• Extra Parmesan cheese