Culinary Creations and Recipes / Food

Arguably The Best & Simplest Homemade Pasta Sauce

Not convinced by the title of this post alone? See for yourself.

A friend told a friend who told me about this sauce. Previously, the closest I had come to homemade had been limited to the following: 1) cautiously overheating and simmering, in succession, tomatoes with their skins on (oops), and 2) opening a plain bottle of store-bought sauce and adding more herbs and spices or meat to it. This is now my favorite sauce that I can make at home, from scratch, to go on spaghetti.

Italian cooking? If I could draw a caricature of how I viewed homemade Italian cooking, it would look like this: an exasperated person with beads of sweat, furrowed brows, furiously stirring a pot over the stove so that the contents wouldn’t turn to charcoal. In contrast, this famous recipe  – with minor adaptation – of Marcella Hazan is actually a cinch.

1 can of San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes (28 oz)

5 tablespoons of butter

1 peeled and halved onion

1 bay leaf

Combine ingredients in a saucepan at medium heat. Simmer for at least 45 minutes. Keep uncovered, and stir regularly, breaking up any large pieces of tomato with a wooden spoon. Remove onion halves at the end of cooking time, and serve over pasta.

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And then, you can top it with some fresh basil from your (urban windowsill) garden :). Growing my own food (herbs) and enjoying it makes the meal just THAT much better!

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via rooted shoots…

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Our window basil and mint plants are doing fabulously. (Thanks Auntie Jane for the shoots from your garden!!!)

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