Five simple ingredients are all you need for this essential recipe.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lbs fresh tomatoes or canned peeled whole tomatoes
• 1 small onion, halved
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves

DIRECTIONS

1 Peel the tomatoes if they’re fresh. Chop them coarsely and put them in a large saucepan with the onion, butter, salt and basil. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 Taste and adjust the seasoning, and remove the onion if you like (or leave it in and just hack it up a little with a sharp knife). Use immediately (sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to six months).

Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta, plus extra.

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Excerpted from Food52 A New Way to Dinner by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs. Recipes Copyright © 2016 Amanda Hesser, Photography copyright © 2016 Rocky Luten and James Ransom. Excerpted by permission of Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.