Cookbooks
By Giuliano Hazan
4.4
(105)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley
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Total Time
50 minutes
If I had to pick one dish that exemplifies "Hazan family favorites," it would be this pasta sauce. It is ridiculously simple. You put four ingredients into a pot and place it on the stove. The onion is just peeled and cut in half, no chopping or slicing required. And if you are using canned tomatoes, all you do is open the can, pour it in the pot, and break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. But it's not because of how easy it is that it's a favorite; it's because the flavor is just so delicious. At our cooking school in Italy we offer a "level-two" course for those who want to return for more. I always ask what dish from the first course is their favorite. Out of a week of classes and restaurant meals, the majority say it is this sauce that they remember best. As an added bonus, it can be frozen and will taste just as good when thawed and reheated months later. If you do make a larger batch, be aware that the cooking time will increase.
Ingredients
Makes enough for 1 pound dried pasta
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, or 3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
1 medium sweet yellow onion
5 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Preparation
Step 1
If using fresh tomatoes, peel them. Coarsely chop the fresh or canned tomatoes. Trim both ends of the onion; peel it and cut it in half lengthwise.
See AlsoLunch box recipes that are anything but boringShakshuka with Polenta | Cook Smarts RecipeVeggie & Egg Tower of Power - My New RootsPortable Whole30 LunchesStep 2
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, depending on the size and shape of the pot. The sauce is done when the butter has separated from the tomatoes and there is no remaining liquid.
Cooks' Note
When you toss pasta with the sauce, add about 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Excerpted from Hazan Family Favorites: Beloved Italian Recipes by Giuliano Hazan (Stewart, Tabori and Chang). Copyright © 2012. Photographs by Joseph de Leo. Buy the full book from Amazon.
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Reviews (105)
Back to TopTriangleWith due respect to Marcella Hazan, this recipe appears in Pellegrini Artist's book, "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well", originally published in the 1890s. It is recipe #86 "Maccheroni all Napoletana II"
Paul M
New York, NY
4/15/2024
Wonderful and very easy to make.
Anonymous
1/22/2024
The cookbook Lynn refers to is Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Indeed the cookbook recipe does call for TWO not three cups of imported Italian plum tomatoes cut up with their juice. As stated by her, two cups will yield a more flavorful sauce, for sure! For the recipe in the cookbook, the previous page provides two methods for preparing fresh tomatoes for the sauce. She also recommends serving the sauce and the pasta with grated parmesan. I do think the San Marzano tomatoes are by far the best.
BARRY Miller
SLC, UT
1/11/2024
This is my Go To tomato sauce. No chopping, no concerns about burned garlic, no garlic at all! I use some and freeze the rest. I love this recipe. But, I only use San Marzano tomatoes, the best butter and a medium onion. That's it!
Camille NYC Diva
New York NY
1/11/2024
Simple but delicious. A favorite of mine. I once took a class from Giuliano Hazan in Charlotte NC
Sigrid
Kansas
See AlsoFall-Apart Caramelized Cabbage5/1/2023
INTERNET BEAR... seriously, with all due respect, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you never been to Italy? Never had a proper Italian nonna make you home-cooked food & sauces that have been in her family's spiritual heart for centuries? There is a reason Marcella Hazan is deeply respected. Because she knew what she was talking about. Good lord, have some humility. Your attitude makes me sad.
Anonymous
4/4/2023
If this tastes bland or "basic" to you, you probably need more salt. Google is your friend if you don't understand why this recipe is so widely acclaimed.
Madison
Madison, WI
3/16/2023
This has been a family favorite for years. Nobody can believe that such a simple recipe with only 4 ingredients works such magic! My family requests this dish year round, and we love it every time. Thank you for sharing this wonderful sauce recipe.
Mbcb
Drexel Hill, PA
2/13/2023
The intro to this recipe, as written in the cookbook, states that it is often eaten by itself, no pasta needed. I can attest to that. For those who found it bland: did you use in season garden fresh tomatoes or canned? If you used out of season ‘fresh’ store bought tomatoes, then, yes, you’d end up with a lack luster sauce. I hope you try this sauce again with good tomatoes or jarred/canned tomatoes. Also, I have the cookbook and the original recipes states 2 cups of canned tomatoes, not 3 as stated here. Try using 2 cups of tomatoes and their juice and you should get a more flavorful sauce.
Lynn
Grand Forks, ND
9/16/2022
Sounds great and will make it. I’m wondering if some complaints could be because of the quality/ripeness ect of the tomatoes?? I could see that ruining the dish??
Becky
Satx
8/5/2022
I can’t criticize the bad reviews here after all the best of anything is the one you like. But I love this sauce. It is the one I always make. My sister-in-law is Italian and an incredible cook, not just Italian, and I like this recipe as well as anything she has ever made. You make and eat what you like and for me it is this recipe. Oh told a friend about this. His response, “best sauce I’ve ever had”.
Phillip Black
Upland CA
8/2/2022
It is a wonderful recipe we have made it for years from Hazans cookbook. it tastes like tomatoes which is the point . You can always add what ever you want. I find it refreshing that it is so clean and simple.
theresa cross
San Franciso
7/27/2022
This is a typical American italian sunday gravy. A very similar recipe was given to me by a wonderful italian grandmother (not mine, I am English). The comments about complexity are correct. It is not complex for a reason. If you have been to Italy, you would know that they use simple ingredients (not complex flavors as Americans seem to like) to make amazing flavors. The use of San Marzano tomatoes are important, I add fresh basil during cooking and on top when serving. There is nothing wrong with complex flavors, but the magic is found in the simple notes that this sauce provides. Using fresh homage pasta also makes it amazing and gets rave reviews from my friends.
Grant Fritch
Okemos, Michigan
7/27/2022
Yeah, no, zero complexity or depth here. I don't need to make this recipe to know it won't be good.No garlic, no basil, no oregano, no pepper? No wine, no stock, no balsamic, no olive oil?The butter's not even browned first?Pasta is already the most boring dish you can serve, and you want to make it even more boring with a super basic sauce that brings nothing to the table? Chef Boyardee probably has more flavor, that's another dish I won't bother eating though. ;)
An Internet Bear who Cooks Here and There
Chicago, IL
7/27/2022
I make this sauce all the time. It is my absolute favorite.
Gracie
PA
7/27/2022
TagsSauceItalianEuropeanTomatoVegetableCanned TomatoOnionRoot VegetableDinnerNut FreeVegetarianGluten FreeEasy5 Ingredients or FewerMeal PrepSimmerCookbooks
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