MealsSean Kim

Marcella Hazan's Famous Tomato Sauce

MealsSean Kim
Marcella Hazan's Famous Tomato Sauce

Hey everyone! We have a special treat here. Our good friend, Ching, who's also a passionate "Pothead" (cooking with the Instant Pot ;P), shared her recipe for an Instant Pot conversion of the famous tomato sauce by Marcella Hazan. In her words:

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My kids like simple, straightforward flavors so pasta with tomato sauce is a regular weeknight meal for us.  This recipe is from Marcella Hazan, who many consider to be the Julia Child of Italian cooking.  I used to regularly make it on the stovetop, but recently successfully used the Instant Pot to make it.  The stovetop method is pretty easy (see this NYT article), but using the Instant Pot means I have the added convenience of not having to babysit the pot on the burner--always a bonus in my book.  The recipe isn't fast, but this is something perfect to dump and go, while you do other things around the house (for me, never-ending laundry).  I've also made a couple of adjustments to the original recipe, namely pureeing the onion into the sauce at the end to thicken it and further mellow the sharpness of the tomato.  This recipe makes enough for 2 batches, so you can eat one tonight and save one for next week. 

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 - 28 oz can whole peeled tomato
  • 1  medium yellow or sweet onion 
  • 1  stick of butter
  • Salt 

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep

  1. Open cans of tomatoes.
  2. Cut onion in half or quarters and remove peel and ends.

Cook

  1. Melt butter on the "Sauté" mode in Instant Pot.  Use low or normal heat.  When melted, turn off "Sauté" function
  2. Dump in onions, cans of tomatoes and add a pinch of salt
  3. Break up most of the tomatoes in half with a wooden spoon (or crush with your hands)
  4. Close lid, seal and pressure cook on high for 45 minutes (while you're waiting: do laundry, vacuum, wash dishes, procrastinate by watching videos on YouTube)
  5. When timer goes off, quick release.  Then simmer on normal "Sauté" setting for 10 minutes to reduce extra liquid
  6. Blend the sauce to desired consistency with immersion blender
  7. Season to taste with salt
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Serve with fresh pasta and grated Parmesan.  I make it a more complete meal with broiled Italian sausages (Just pop precooked ones from Trader Joes in the toaster oven while making the pasta) and a salad.  

Happy eating!

Ching

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Thanks Ching! It's delicious!

 

Don't have an Instant Pot yet? When you're ready to take the plunge into an awesome cooking experience, here's the Instant Pot we recommend: Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer. It's so well-priced and has all the features we use 99% of the time.