Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
FOR 6 SERVINGS
This is the simplest of all sauces to make, and none has a purer,
more irresistibly sweet tomato taste. I have known people to skip
the pasta and eat the sauce directly out of the pot with a spoon.
2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described on this page or 2 cups canned
imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

5 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt
1 to 1½ pounds pasta

Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for the table
Recommended pasta This is an unsurpassed sauce for Potato Gnocchi,
this page, but it is also delicious with factory-made pasta in such shapes as
spaghetti, penne, or rigatoni. Serve with grated Parmesan.
Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add
the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady
simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from
time to time, mashing any large piece of tomato in the pan with the back of
a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing
the sauce with pasta.

Note May be frozen when done. Discard the onion before freezing.