Butter is the Word of the Day

As soon as I read about this amazing tomato sauce, the first thing that went through my mind was a great big resounding DUH. I have been trying for YEARS to find a good basic tomato sauce, one that is good all by its lonesome or spiffed up with mushrooms, sausage, whatever. I’ve tried sauces with a mirepoix base, canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, white wine, red wine, chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, HOURS simmering on a stove top – you name it, I’ve tried it.
You know what I never tried? Butter. You know what makes this the best tomato sauce EVER? Butter. DUH, right? This sauce is so simple and so easy and so perfect and so obvious I just want to kick myself for not figuring it out sooner. There are three ingredients for the base: tomatoes, an onion, and butter. That’s it.

Now, if you’re like me and you wanna get fancy, you can add mushrooms that you’ve sautéed in butter until they’re soft and toasty and just rife with opportunity. And then you can add a little splash of marjoram to them – just to dress them up a little. And THEN you can pour in the most basic and delicious tomato sauce you’ll ever make, chop some fresh basil, grate some parmesan, and serve the whole thing over pasta.
I’m just dying to try this sauce with ground sausage, or garlic, or chili flakes, or all three, or... oh the possibilities are endless!

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.