Simple and decadent weeknight meal

At the risk of sounding overtly dramatic, Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce is life changing for me. I always knew I could make simple sauces from scratch, and even did so from time to time. But, in my mind, they still took too much brain power and energy for those times I’m just trying to throw a quick weekday dinner together. Like a lot of people, spaghetti dinners settled for being a jar of pasta sauce and boiled noodles. Exciting, not at all. Now, no more buying pre-made jarred tomato sauces for pasta.

Last night was my third time making Ms. Hazan’s recipe. It’s so so easy and makes the house smell so so good. And, the three ingredients (onion, butter, can of tomatoes), is always something I have in my pantry.

This time I added some chicken sausage but, I can assure you, the original three ingredients are stellar on their own.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“800”] Plated[/caption]

I had a package of chicken sausage in my fridge and I thought, “why not?”. I heated the cast iron pan to “crazy hot” and got a nice sear on the sausage slices. I also wanted something other than spaghetti noddles, and opted to indulge in the box of bucatini that we had.

Bucatini, if you don’t know, is a thicker noodle that is also hollow. It’s fantastic for picking up a lot of sauce and, when cooked al dente, has the perfect bite to it. It’s one of my favorites.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“800”] All four ingredients starting to get to know each other[/caption]

Combine one 28oz can of tomatoes, 1 onion cut in half, 5 tbsp of unsalted butter (this makes it both rich and smooth) to the seared sausage. Simmer for 45 minutes.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“800”] It’s ready[/caption]

My wife and I ate in silence. We even ate without looking at phone/tablet/tv screens. With how simple this is, you wouldn’t think it could be as good as it was. Those supermarket jarred sauces have nothing on this.

I’m re-teaching myself how to cook and appreciate making things. Through this process, I’m also learning that I like making things from scratch. I definitely appreciate the shortcuts but, making things from individual ingredients helps me destress and enjoy cooking more. It also increases my appreciation for it.