Marcella Hazan’s Simple Tomato Sauce (and another contest)

by julie on February 3, 2010

I really love to cook, and am finding myself cooking more often now that I have a big, spacious kitchen to cook in (and we’re no longer doing that dual residence thing, which can be a pain). One night this week I wanted to cook, but didn’t want to do anything complicated. Easy cooking doesn’t mean you have to go to a bag or a box– in this case, I went to a can.

Now, I don’t tend to cook out of cans very often, but tomatoes are an exception. I absolutely loathe tomatoes out of season. Canning does a good job in preserving the taste for certain dishes– and tomato sauce is certainly one of them. Back in December, a PR guy from Red Gold approached me about cooking with Red Gold tomatoes on the blog. As I already *use* Red Gold tomatoes, it was an easy choice. So, he sent me this can:

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which was filled with a few cans of Red Gold, some cookbooks and other promo items, and this:

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which is about the cutest promo item I’ve ever seen.

So, when I saw this recipe on smitten kitchen, I thought “Ooh! Two birds, one stone– dinner and using Red Gold Products for a contest.” Funny thing was, the recipe called for whole tomatoes, so I ran out to the grocery store and bought some Red Gold Whole Tomatoes to use (I’ll used the basil and garlic diced tomatoes in another recipe, I’m sure).

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The recipe is so simple:

2 cans (14 oz) of whole tomatoes (smitten kitchen suggests San Marzano, but the Red Gold worked well, and is a little more price-conscious
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (in a different meal, I used European-style cultured butter– amazing texture– but regular old unsalted butter does well, too)
1 medium sized onion, peeled and halved

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In a heavy saucepan (I used a Le Creuset- style Dutch oven), combine all three ingredients, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once you have a simmer, turn the heat down until it just bubbles and cook for 45 minutes (or so), stirring occasionally, making sure you mash the tomatoes as you stir. Once you can see fat globules floating on the top, the dish is ready to server. You can discard the onion, but it’s actually quite delicious as a garnish.

I served it with some crusty country-style bread and some olive oil– and spent a little more than $5 on the whole dish. It’s got to be the cheapest meal I’ve made in ages– but so delicious.

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Now, for the contest:

Red Gold has provided me with two of those tins. They’re gigantic, and hold a lot of great Red Gold stuff, including cookbooks, coupons, that awesome die cast Red Gold truck.

So how do you enter?

Post your favorite recipe involving tomatoes! It can be a link to another blog, or a dish you make by memory– doesn’t matter. If you tweet about the contest, post again, and you’ll get another entry. Blog about it (and link to the blog post) and you’ll get yet a THIRD entry.

One prize will be best-sounding recipe (as judged by The Boyfriend and me). One prize will go to a randomly picked commenter. And a third prize of a Red Gold cookbook will also go to a randomly picked commenter. So even if you don’t have a favorite recipe, you have a chance to win.

Deadline to enter is MONDAY, February 8th (because it’s my mama’s birthday. Or something.) at 11:59 PM. I’ll announce the winners on Friday (so I have time to read the yummy recipes y’all are entering!).

  • http://kellyhudson.blogspot.com Kelly

    Red Gold are my favorite tomatoes ever!

    Here’s a tomato recipe that I seriously make once a week:

    - 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
    - 1 can black olives, drained and roughly chopped
    - 1 T olive oil
    - 1 T minced garlic
    - Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

    Mix all ingredients together; heat if desired. Toss with spaghetti and lots of shredded Parmesan.
    .-= Kelly´s last blog ..Just in case you were wondering … =-.

  • Dean

    My recipe is one that my other taught me to make from fresh Maryland Tomatoes, and I only know it from memory.

    We’d slice up the tomatoes as best we could, skins on and put them in the pan with a few pats of butter, and cover the pan. As the tomatoes soften, the skins almost float to the top… sometimes with a little coaxing. Remove all of the skin, and continue to cook until their as soft as they can get…. mash them up with a fork, and add some sugar, and pepper, and then pour in some cream/milk until it’s the desired consistency.

    I LOVE THIS…. with white buttered bread.

    • Dean

      where’d my picture come from?

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      If you’re registered with Gravatar, WordPress automatically imports it from the Gravatar service (my icon is from Gravatar as well.)

  • Coco

    My fave tomato recipe (this week) is a masala based on the CI Chicken Tikka Masala from a few years ago. I adjusted it to be more friendly to the pickier eaters in the house…

    2 T oil
    1 T fresh grated ginger (more or less)
    1 T fresh minced garlic (more or less)
    1 T garam masala spice mix (mmmmmmm)
    1 large can crushed tomatoes

    Heat the oil – mix in the ginger, garlic & spice – stir & mix. Add the tomatoes and simmer through for 10-15 minutes.

    Sometimes for fun I stir in thawed & drained frozen spinach.

  • Twitricia

    I have so many tomato recipes I love, and now I suspect I’ll have more!

    But, after eight years in Kentucky, I totally grew a fondness for Hot Browns! The ones from The Brown Hotel in Louisville are some of the best I’ve had (less the secret recipe of my former co-worker), and for me, the tomatoes are totally the star! It is the one ingredient I think the recipe can’t do without– just the right extra zip (and color too). Their recipe is here: http://www.brownhotel.com/dining/hot-brown.html.

  • John Augustin

    Creamy Creole-Style Tomato Soup
    John Augustin

    2 T. vegetable oil
    2 C. chopped onion
    1 C. chopped celery
    1 C. chopped carrots
    2 t. salt
    ¼ t. cayenne
    ¼ t. ground black pepper
    2 T. chopped garlic
    8 C. chopped canned tomatoes, Red Gold preferred
    2 qt. chicken broth
    6 oz. can tomato paste
    1 t. or more Creole Seasoning
    ½ C. heavy cream
    ¼ C. chopped parsley

    In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots. Season with the salt, cayenne and black pepper. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour 15 minutes. During the last 30 minutes season to your liking with Creole Seasoning.
    Remove half the mixture and purée it in a blender. Return it to the pot. (I use an immersion blender.)
    Add ½ cup heavy cream. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add parsley and serve. Yield: 8 – 10 servings.

  • amy

    I enjoy chicken and sun dried tomato bruschetta! It is very tasty and great for a picnic. Maybe an indoor picnic at this point in the year! Here is a link to the recipe.

    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-sun-dried-tomato-bruschetta/Detail.aspx

  • CincyCapell

    I love Hazan’s books. She’s the Julia child of Italian cuisine. While San Marzano tomatoes are the world’s best, I like using Red Gold in many dishes. Red Gold is a family-owned business which has been around since 1942 and they do nice things, like donating 10,000 pounds of their tomatoes to the Columbus Food Bank last year. Plus they only use local ingredients, tomatoes from Ohio & Indiana.

  • John

    If you can’t find peeled tomato’s you can always run them first through a food mill before cooking. It also get’s rid of the seeds which can sometimes cause your sauce to taste bitter. Red gold has done a good job of breeding tomato’s that are low in acid which is why they compete well with the imported San Marzano’s.

  • Josh

    Do you add the juice from the whole tomatoes, too?

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      yes, I do!

  • Brian Reynolds

    I have two for you.

    I made a completely delicious tomato and mozzarella tart with basil-garlic crust for a late summer brunch:
    (pics are WONDERFUL)- http://pinkparsleycatering.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-mozarella-tart-with-basil-garlic.html

    and this week I made a spicy whole-wheat penne bake with homemade sauce and fresh mozzarella. I’m going to try your sauce recipe but this turned out really well:
    1. Saute 4 minced garlic cloves and 2 tsp red pepper flakes (less if you aren’t into spicy) in 3 T olive oil
    2. Stir in 28-oz can crushed tomatoes and 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes. Simmer 15-20 minutes to thicken.
    3. Meanwhile, boil 1 lb whole wheat penne in salted water until almost al dente
    4. Stir in 3 T chopped basil, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp kosher salt
    5. Toss pasta with sauce and 8 oz small fresh mozzarella balls, cut in half (little bits of melted cheese distributed throughout the dish – SO good).
    6. Put in baking or casserole dish, sprinkle parmesan or other shredded cheese lightly on top, bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until cheese is melty brown and delish.

  • http://willflyforfoodblog.com Christina Baita

    There is a tomato dish that I had when in Italy. When I came home, I recreated it.

    In the summer I like to use fresh tomatoes but in the winter, most definitely canned.

    Using whole tomatoes, slice into 1/2in thick slices. One Lg Can.
    Chop up handful fresh basil (or use 1/2tsp dried)
    Salt and pepper to taste
    About 1/2C bread crumbs (more depending on how much you make.
    Parmesean Cheese
    Butter pats

    Spray oven proof dish with oil and place tomato slices into pan alternating with the basil. Lightly sprinkle top with salt and pepper, bread crumbs and parmesan with pats of butter randomly placed on top covering dish.

    Bake @350 for 30 minutes making sure not to burn top. Then broil on low, not too close to the burners until the topping it toasted and crunchy.

    Depending on your oven, you may have to tweak it a bit. I am using the small top part of my double oven. It’s basically like a potato gratin except with tomatoes. I imagine a nice Gruyere would be good on top too.
    Oooh…I love cheese.
    .-= Christina Baita´s last blog ..Cincinnati.com boasts Janessa Touchet as one of the People to watch in 2010 =-.

  • Jon

    Ok…I have to admit…the sauce you made is IT. It is the ‘sauce’ and I make it ALL the time. It’s my favorite thing to make with tomatoes. I have to say that I add some salt as I think it needs it. MOST importantly…the onion is unbelievably good to eat…a chef treat. If you don’t eat it that night, save it and make it into an omelet or a frittata or something for breakfast (ideas from another friend-chef that I have now used as my own). So…sadly, I have no other new recipe for tomatoes than what you posted, but I hope these additions bring joy to others.

  • Jon

    And for the other people posting comments…Yes, a food mill is the way to go for canned whole tomatoes for this recipe. Crushed don’t seem to work as well in my opinion. Should you get fresh tomatoes (like in the summer when you can then process them for the winter), Hazan has a way to process them. Cut them in half at the ‘equator’ of the tomato (so cut them so a lot of seed are exposed)…then put them cut side down in a dry pan and cover them (VERY IMPORTANT TO COVER – or you’ll get burnt tomatoes). Cook at a med temp until they render juices…for about 5-10 min. Next put them in a food mill and then cook per the recipe above. Seriously – this is like the best recipe for tomato sauce you’ll ever make. No need for sugar or anything. Simply the best…

  • John

    Tomato & Bread Soup
    8 thick slices Italian bread, crusts removed
    3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
    1/2 cup finely diced onions
    6 garlic cloves, crushed
    Two 28-ounce cans of Red Gold whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
    4 cups Chicken Stock or broth
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    10 basil leaves, washed and dried
    Directions:
    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
    Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and cook, about 5 minutes.
    Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the toasted bread and stock and return to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then add the basil leaves and adjust the level of heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, whisking occasionally to break up the pieces of bread, until the mixture is dense and silky, about 40 minutes.

  • http://coconutdreamz.wordpress.com Kristen (Tisenfine)

    My favorite tomato recipe is one of the first things I learned how cook when I first lived on my own. So easy to make, yet a little different than just a normal tomato sauce! AND it has bacon.

    Ingredients:
    1/2lb of pepper bacon (I get mine at Kroeger & Sons, natch), chopped
    2 14.5 cans of fire roasted tomatoes
    2 small cans tomato sauce
    1/2 red onion, chopped
    2 cloves of garlic, chopped
    whole wheat pasta

    Instructions:
    In a frying pan, fry the bacon until crispy. Drain off any excess fat, leaving maybe a tablespoon or so to fry the onion. Saute the onion until tender, adding the garlic after a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes and sauce, and simmer for 15 minutes.
    Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
    Ladle the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
    .-= Kristen (Tisenfine)´s last blog ..Dinara Safina Risotto =-.

  • Marita

    I made this recipe from Cooking Light a few years ago and loved it. It’s great when you have a surplus of fresh tomatoes or just with canned tomatoes. Using fresh ingredients (rosemary, grated lemon rind, garlic) tastes best but I tend to use whatever I have on hand. It’s really good with fresh pasta and roasted chicken.

    http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=642248

    Ingredients
    1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
    1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
    2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    4 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    Preparation
    Preheat oven to 400°.

    Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss well to combine. Place tomato mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove mixture from oven.

    Preheat broiler.

    Broil tomatoes for 10 minutes or until they begin to brown. Remove from oven; stir gently to combine.

  • Victoria N

    I think on of the best recipes using tomatoes is Past Puttanesca. A simple dish that only takes a few minutes to put together.

    http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_pasta_puta.htm

  • cincyfoxy

    My favorite thing to make with tomatoes usually happens when I have nothing at all to eat in the house but rice, an onion and a can of diced tomatoes. Sometimes they have jalapenos in them, sometimes basil, but usually just plain. Saute some onion, cook the rice, throw the rice in the saute pan along with the tomatoes (and, of course, the juice), salt and pepper. Et voila, not-so-Spanish rice! Sometimes I add butter. Sometimes I even add some basil I’ve grown. But it’s usually good enough on its own.

  • vudutu

    We love Marcella, her classic Essentials of Italian Cooking is one of the most used books on our shelf, right up there with Silver Palate. I do her Lemon Chicken from it regularly.

    Cincy Capell thanks for the info on Red Gold, I was happy to find out it is a local product, I’ll pass the info on to Val at the locavores blog. We love tomatoes, we freeze and can a lot so that helps in the winter but Julie I have another solution for you. Oven roasted tomatoes, this will transform those winter plum tomato rocks into delicious winter treats, they last a week or two in the fridge and you can use them in an endless number of ways, pasta, salads, omelets, fish, or on toast, use your imagination. You can also do this with canned plum tomatoes. There are a LOT of variations of this method, I will add a couple of links so you get some more ideas but here is my basic recipe.

    Preheat the oven, this can be any where from 175 to 300 plus but the lower, slower and longer the better. Cut the tomatoes in half, put a piece of foil or parchment on a cookie sheet, pour a good amount of olive oil on it toward one end then take each tomato half and sop up as much oil on the cut side as you can, coat them real well, place them cut side up close together, then liberally add coarse sea salt and pepper and I add herbs de provence (we mix our own from basil thyme and lavender). Slide them in the oven for as long as it takes, usually 3 plus hours until they are cooked and reduced to little taste treats. You can add other herbs, shallots, garlic, balsamic vinegar, add sugar if you want more of a tomato jam, or what ever strikes your fancy. The end result will help you make it through the freezing weather to summer.

    http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/10/oven-roasted-tomatoes.html

    http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/

    http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/hors-doeuvres/recipe-ovenroasted-tomato-jam-073536

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      Cinci Capell’s local info was in my press pack– I believe. It’s not in the 100-miles local, I think it’s a bit beyond– but it’s definitely keeping $ in the area. I’ll definitely try the oven roasted tomatoes!

  • Sheila I

    My favorite tomato recipe really is more of assembling than cooking: Make a sandwich of in season sliced tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella & basil on some crusty bread & broil it for a few minutes.

    I’ll post an actual recipe as well. . Here is an old one from Martha Stewart, but sometimes I swap out canned clams for the shrimp. Just add them at the end. I also add goat cheese or fresh parmesan.

    INGREDIENTS
    Serves 4.
    1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and
    deveined (tails removed)
    Coarse salt and ground pepper
    6 teaspoons olive oil
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in
    juice
    1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
    1/2 pound linguine
    1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh basil
    leaves, torn into small pieces, plus extra
    leaves for garnish (optional)
    DIRECTIONS
    1. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 4
    teaspoons oil over high. Add shrimp; cook until opaque
    throughout, turning occasionally, 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl;
    set aside.
    2. Make sauce: To the same skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons
    oil and garlic; cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30
    seconds. Add canned tomatoes and their juice, along with 2 cups
    water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally,
    until tomatoes have softened and are saucy, about 15 minutes.
    Remove sauce from heat; stir in cherry tomatoes.
    3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta
    until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; return
    pasta to pot. Add tomato sauce, shrimp, and basil; season with
    salt and pepper, and toss. Serve immediately, garnished with
    basil leaves, if desired.

  • John

    We tried your Marcella Hazan’s Simple Tomato Sauce recipe which is just over the top good. I don’t need all of that butter, but then again, I don’t think I can go back to my old sauce again.

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