Tasting is Believing--The Simplest Tomato Sauce

I'd read about this recipe, but somehow it seemed too good to be true.  A can of tomatoes, some butter, an onion (and not even a chopped onion at that), and it's the best tomato sauce ever?  I was intrigued, and moved this recipe to the top of the list.

The beauty of this recipe, aside from the taste, which I will get to later, is its simplicity.  Literally all you do is open a can of tomatoes (apparently San Marzano are recommended, and I was able to find those at our local farmer's market, but I'm guessing any 28 oz can of whole/plum tomatoes would yield similar results), cut an onion in half, and put it all into a pot with some butter.  Forty-five minutes of simmering later:  amazing pasta sauce.

It's hard to pinpoint what it is about this recipe that made me want to skip the pasta and only have sauce for dinner.  It's just good.  Really, really good.  The butter gives it a creamy richness that is lacking in an olive-oil based sauce, the onion flavors are distinct but subtle (and even though you are supposed to discard the onion at the end, Mw happily ate it alongside his pasta and was quite pleased with how the cooking process transformed the onion), and the tomatoes have a slight sweetness to them that almost fools you into thinking that they didn't come straight from a can.  And, the other amazing thing about this recipe, which I'd read about but couldn't bring myself to believe, is that it was better without the Parmesean cheese.  As Mw sagely noted, "Who knew?  The better and simpler the sauce, the less cheese you need."

I will register one teeny complaint that I had with this sauce--it was a bit too thin in places (you may be wondering how a sauce can be thin in places, and from the picture below it certainly doesn't appear thin, but there was a bit of wateriness at the bottom of the bowl that I didn't like).  I tried simmering with the lid only partially on to cook off some of the water but it didn't entirely work. I think next time I will drain the tomatoes a wee bit before putting them into the pot. But only a wee bit, it's such a good recipe that I wouldn't want to waste a single drop.

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
From Marcela Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

28 ounces (one big can) whole peeled tomatoes
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Combine tomatoes (including juices), butter, and onion in a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Once simmering, lower the heat and continue to cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally to help crush the tomatoes into the sauce, for about 45 minutes (until fat droplets float free of tomatoes).  Remove from heat, remove onion and discard, and salt to taste.  Serve over pasta.  Serves 4.