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Cooking-time note For all the tomato sauces that follow, the cooking time given is indicative. If you make a larger quantity of sauce, it will take longer; if the pot is broad and shallow, the sauce will cook faster, if it is deep and narrow, it will cook more slowly. You alone can tell when it’s ready. Taste it for density: It should be neither too thick nor too watery, and for flavor the tomato must lose its raw taste, without losing sweetness or freshness.

Freezer note Wherever indicated, tomato sauces may be frozen successfully. After thawing, simmer for 10 minutes before tossing with pasta.

Reminder If the sauce has butter, always toss the pasta with an additional tablespoon of fresh butter; if it has olive oil, drizzle with raw olive oil while tossing.

Making Fresh Tomatoes Ready for Sauce

Unless the recipe indicates otherwise, fresh, ripe tomatoes must be prepared to use for sauce following one of the two methods given below. The blanching method can lead to a meatier, more rustic consistency. The food mill method produces a silkier, smoother sauce.

The blanching method Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or less. Drain them and, as soon as they are cool enough to handle, skin them, and cut them up in coarse pieces.

The food mill method Wash the tomatoes in cold water, cut them lengthwise in half, and put them in a covered saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Set a food mill fitted with the disk with the largest holes over a bowl. Transfer the tomatoes with any of their juices to the mill and purée.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

THIS IS THE SIMPLEST of all sauces to make, and none has a purer, more irresistibly sweet tomato taste. I have known people to skip the pasta and eat the sauce directly out of the pot with a spoon.

For 6 servings

2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described, OR 2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

5 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

Salt

1 to 1½ pounds pasta

Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for the table

Recommended pasta This is an unsurpassed sauce for Potato Gnocchi, but it is also delicious with factory-made pasta in such shapes as spaghetti, penne, or rigatoni. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing any large piece of tomato in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.

Note May be frozen when done. Discard the onion before freezing.

Tomato Sauce with Olive Oil and Chopped Vegetables

THE CARROT AND CELERY in this sauce are put in a crudo, which means without the usual separate and preliminary sautéeing procedure, along with the tomatoes. The sweetness of carrot and the fragrance of celery contribute depth to the fresh tomato flavor of the sauce.

For 6 servings

2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described, OR 2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

⅔ cup chopped carrot

⅔ cup chopped celery

⅔ cup chopped onion

Salt

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 to 1½ pounds pasta

Recommended pasta This is an all-purpose sauce for most cuts of factory-made pasta, particularly spaghettini and penne.

1. Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the carrot, celery, onion, and salt, and cook with no cover on the pan at a slow, steady simmer for 30 minutes. Stir from time to time.

2. Add the olive oil, raise the heat slightly to bring to a somewhat stronger simmer, and stir occasionally, while reducing the tomato to as much of a pulp as you can with the back of the spoon. Cook for 15 minutes, then taste and correct for salt.

Note May be frozen when done.

Variation with Marjoram and Two Cheeses

The above sauce, cooked