5 Ingredients or Fewer

Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Lemon

May  5, 2019
3
1 Ratings
Photo by Westcoasty
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Serves 6 when added to pasta
Author Notes

This recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter. I swapped out the butter for garlic-infused olive oil because I'm casein-intolerant (also, I love garlic!), and added the lemon as an experiment. I usually add vegetables to my pasta sauce, but wanted to keep the simplicity of the original recipe. I used canned regular tomatoes, not Italian, because they're what I'll have on hand. Pantry meals rule!

Verdict: a bright, tomatoey sauce, though next time I’d add minced garlic.
Westcoasty

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup good quality garlic-infused olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 scant teaspoon of lemon zest (about half a medium lemon)
  • Salt to taste
Directions
  1. If you keep your olive oil in the fridge, remember to take it out in advance! Otherwise it will take time to liquefy, to pour out your third of a cup.
  2. Add all ingredients except salt to your pot, and stir. Bring to a gentle simmer. If the tomatoes you used are whole instead of diced, break them apart with your stirring spoon. This can be done at intervals while the sauce reduces. Some texture is preferable, just not huge chunks.
  3. Simmer the sauce gently, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Give it a stir from time to time.
  4. Once the thickness of the sauce seems right to you, remove the onion. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed. The original recipe leaves the cooked onion out once removed, as do I, but feel free to dice it and add it back in if you're an onion fan.
  5. Toss the finished sauce with your pasta (I use gluten-free), and grate parmigiano reggiano cheese on top for serving.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

2 Reviews

Sahdaddyd March 15, 2022
So I made this nummy reading recipe tonight (15/03/2022), and it was okay. I have many lemons from my backyard, and enjoy trying new recipes. If you enjoy flavors that are not over pronounced, this is recipe is for you. I'll be studying the ingredients, and tweaking it to bring forward more. Thanks for the inspiration.
Westcoasty March 15, 2022
Thanks for the feedback!