Ingredients
2 tbsp. butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 lb. plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
Kosher salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Preparation
Step 1In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Step 2Add tomatoes and season with salt and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, breaking tomatoes up with a wooden spoon, until tomatoes are broken down and sauce thickens slightly, about 25 minutes. Add lemon juice. Step 3 Taste and season with more salt as needed.
We recommend using plum tomatoes for this sauce because they aren’t as watery as most tomatoes—it’s why they are known as THE sauce tomato. Really, though, use whatever you’ve got—If you love the type of tomato that you use, then you’ll love the sauce that’s made with them! The best part about this sauce is that it’s simple to make with no fussy blanching or peeling of skin involved. It’s the type of sauce that when the pasta craving hits, you can have it on the table 30 minutes later for an easy weeknight dinner. As far as simmering the tomatoes goes, you can take it as far as you want. Once the tomatoes start to break down it will already have developed good flavor. Leave it looser for a really fast sauce or keep them simmering until it turns into a perfect jammy situation that you’ll want to put over everything. Fry up some eggs in it, serve it over toast, with steamed mussels, or just about anything else! If you’re keeping it traditional, this recipe yields enough sauce for about one pound of pasta. Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
