Marcella Hazan’s Butter, Tomato, & Onion Sauce

I made this sauce when I was still swimming in gorgeous fresh tomatoes. Because the sauce is so simple, it really showcases them. That being said, the quality of the tomatoes used is very important.

There are many debates about this famous sauce online. Much of the discussion is about whether or not butter (and its richness) should be incorporated into a tomato sauce. My vote is “YES!” 🙂 After tasting it, I think most would agree with me. Other discussions revolve around dissatisfaction with the results compared to the “hype.” Comments about the sauce being soupy and underwhelming may stem from using lower quality tomatoes or an abbreviated cooking time. We loved it.

My intention was to freeze the sauce to enjoy it during the winter, but it was too delicious to wait. The debate about this sauce in my house was about what type of pasta to serve it with! 😉 My husband won with his choice of pappardelle. Great.

This recipe was adapted from Hazan Family Favorites: Beloved Italian Recipes by Guiliano Hazan, via Epicurious.com. I increased the cooking time and reserved the onions after removing them from the tomato mixture (I pureed and seasoned them to serve as a spread on toasted baguette slices). Using fresh instead of canned tomatoes may have altered the total cooking time. I more than doubled the cooking time in order to achieve my desired consistency. I also pureed the finished sauce. Addictive!

Yield: Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta

• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes (or 3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, preferably San Marzano)
• 1 medium sweet yellow onion
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to finish

1. If using fresh tomatoes, peel them: Score the base of each tomato and place it in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the tomato with a wire strainer and peel off the skin.
2. Coarsely chop the fresh or canned tomatoes.
3. Trim both ends of the onion; peel it and cut it in half lengthwise.
4. Put the tomatoes, onion, butter, and salt in a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over medium heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, lower the heat to a slow but steady simmer. Cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are no longer watery and the sauce has reduced, about 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size and shape of the pot. (I used an enameled cast iron pot.) The sauce is done when the butter has separated from the tomatoes and there is no remaining liquid.
5. Puree the finished sauce, if desired.
6. Prepare one pound of pasta in boiling, salted water according to package directions.
7. When you toss pasta with the sauce, add about 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Note: If the sauce is doubled, the cooking time will increase.

 One Year Ago:

• Greek Pie with Mixed Greens

Two Years Ago:

• Simple Barbecue Sauce
• Heirloom Tomato Crostada with Honey-Thyme Glaze

Three Years Ago:

• Pizza with Escarole, Fontina, & Walnuts
• Roasted Tomato & Pancetta Penne

Four Years Ago:

• Mexican Scrambled Egg & Bacon Tacos
• Baked Eggs with Arugula, Yogurt & Chili
• Fresh Tomato Sauce over Pasta

Spaghetti with Tomatoes & Anchovy Butter

My husband waters a friends’ tomato plants for one week every summer while they are on vacation. I really look forward to it because we get to eat all of the ripe specimens. 🙂

This dish was a spectacular way to use our giant load of vine-ripened tomatoes. The stick of butter in the sauce made it restaurant-esque. 😉 Rich and absolutely fabulous!

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit, contributed by Alison Roman. I doubled the recipe, increased the garlic, and used whole wheat spaghetti. The whole wheat pasta added a wonderful bite to the finished dish. I also omitted incorporating pasta water into the sauce because the consistency was perfect without it. I did save it for re-heating the leftovers.

Yield: 8 servings

• 16 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
• 12 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 pounds medium tomatoes, cut into eighths
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped tender herbs (such as flat-leaf parsley, tarragon, and/or chives), as desired

1. Cook spaghetti; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Cook anchovies and garlic, stirring often, until anchovies are broken down and garlic is soft, about 4 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until falling apart, 8–10 minutes.
5. Toss in pasta; cook until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Incorporate pasta water to achieve desired sauce consistency.
6. Toss in herbs, for garnish, as desired.

One Year Ago:

• Ottolenghi’s Deconstructed Baba Ghanouj

Two Years Ago:

• Arugula with Sautéed Corn & Shallots

Three Years Ago:

• Pesto Pasta Salad with Spinach, Peas, & Pine Nuts
• Ina Garten’s Provencal Tomatoes

Four Years Ago:

• Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Browned Butter, Swiss Chard, Walnuts, & Golden Raisins
• Pasta alla Norma

Fresh Tomato Sauce

My husband waters a co-workers’ tomato plants for a week every summer with the benefit of bringing home all of the ripe specimens. This year, he was fortunate enough to bring home a TON.

I had been saving some fabulous “meter” pasta for a special sauce- this was IT. This slow-cooked sauce had wonderful concentrated flavor. The recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Grace Parisi. Absolutely delicious!

Yield: enough sauce to coat 1 pound of pasta

• 5 lbs tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cups water
• 4 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1-2 large basil sprigs
• 1/2 T granulated sugar
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a large pot, combine the tomatoes with the water, cover and cook over moderate heat until the tomatoes are softened and soupy, about 15 minutes.
2. Set a food mill over a very large bowl. Add the tomatoes and puree them into the bowl. You should have about 8 to 9 cups.
3. Wipe out the pot and heat the olive oil in it. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over very low heat until softened, about 1 minute.
4. Add the tomato puree, basil and sugar and season with salt and pepper.
5. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 5 to 6 cups, about 2 hours.
6. Discard the basil, if desired.
7. Serve over your choice of pasta, cooked according to package directions. Alternatively, let the sauce cool, then pour into 1-pint plastic containers and freeze for up to 4 months.

One Year Ago:

• Mushroom Bourguignon

Two Years Ago:

• Pizza with Escarole, Fontina, & Walnuts
• Spinach & Ricotta Pappardelle

Three Years Ago:

• Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Browned Butter, Swiss Chard, Walnuts, & Golden Raisins
• Basil Pesto & Tomatoes over Fresh Whole Wheat Pasta

If you like this you may also like:

• Spicy & Garlicky Fresh Tomato Sauce with Pappardelle

Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomato

Now that spring is here we are busy doing TONS of yard work. I needed a quick dinner to pull together with my last bit of energy. This is my FAVORITE quick dinner. SUPER QUICK.

I use store bought whole wheat or regular potato gnocchi – although I am sure that this dish would be even more amazing with homemade! It is quite spicy with the red pepper flakes -which I love as well. We eat it with a green salad or roasted vegetables on the side. This recipe was adapted from Everyday Food.

Yield: Serves 4

For the Sauce:

• 4 (thick) or 5 (regular) slices bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 medium tomatoes, or 6-8 Campari tomatoes, cored and diced medium
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, to taste
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 batch simple potato gnocchi (recipe below) or 17.6 oz (500g) store-bought whole wheat or regular potato gnocchi (cooked according to package directions)
• fresh parsley or basil, chopped, for garnish
• parmesan, shaved or grated, for garnish

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high until crisp. Drain on paper towels; remove all but 2 teaspoons fat from skillet.
2. Add tomatoes, garlic, and red-pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down and sauce is chunky, 6 minutes.
3. Add cooked gnocchi and bacon. Toss until gnocchi are heated through and coated with sauce.
4. Sprinkle with herbs and Parmesan; serve immediately.

For the Simple Potato Gnocchi:

Prep Time: 50 minutes, Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: Serves 8

• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 5 small)
• coarse salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. In a large pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water; reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Lightly dust two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets with flour; set aside.
3. Drain potatoes and peel while still hot with a paring knife (use a thick, dry kitchen towel or pot holder to hold them). Immediately pass potatoes through a ricer onto a work surface. Let cool completely.
4. Sprinkle potatoes with flour and 2 teaspoons salt, then top with egg. With your hands, work flour and egg into a dough.
5. Knead dough until smooth but not elastic, dusting with flour if it becomes too sticky, 4 minutes. Do not overwork dough.
6. Divide dough into 8 portions. Roll each portion into a rope (1/2 inch thick and 24 inches long). Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces.
7. Gently roll each dough piece against the back tines of a fork to make ridges, then arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.
8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In batches, add a few handfuls gnocchi and cook until most have floated to top, 2 minutes. With a wire-mesh spider or a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi immediately to a sauce.

Note: Place boiled gnocchi on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, cover, and let sit, up to 2 hours.