If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Pasta Sunday is a THING in the Lemere household.

And while I realize that it may be odd for a trainer/fitness professional to knowingly, willingly and REPEATEDLY start the week, week after week on a carb overload…I truly don’t care!!!!

Pasta Sunday is one meal I eat without hesitation, without counting calories, and without guilt. There aren’t many sacred things in this life, but Sunday dinner is absolutely one of them.

I get so many DM’s about pasta recipes (in addition to fitness-ish), and I really appreciate that about my well-rounded community. So here we go, open a nice bottle of red and get to work.

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• EVOO
• One small yellow or white onion
• Four cloves garlic
• 1 28 oz can of pureed San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Basil or Italian herbs seasoning
• 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey, or protein of choice
• 1 lb fresh egg pasta, or noodle of choice

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. On medium heat, coat a pan with a layer of EVOO and evenly distribute.
2. Finely chop onion and cloves of garlic and add to EVOO, sauté until translucent, season with salt and pepper to taste. Continually stir the garlic otherwise it will burn. DO NOT MULTITASK. Focus, and savor the aroma that immediately fills the air, it is heaven.
3. Add San Marzano tomatoes, immediately followed by the tomato paste. Fold until everything is incorporated and paste has dissolved into the puree.
4. Add red wine and fold until fully incorporated.
5. Once bubbles start to form, turn to low heat to simmer. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and herbs to taste. Stir every so often
6. While sauce is simmering brown protein with 1 TBS EVOO.
7. Add protein to the sauce to finish cooking through.
8. Prepare your noodles according to package directions. We get fresh pasta and the cook time is about 3 minutes tops. After the pasta is cooked make sure you SAVE TWO CUP OF PASTA WATER – DO NOT FORGET.
9. Fully drain noodles, and put back in the same pot they cooked in and add the sauce. Gently fold to make sure each noodle is coated. Gradually add pasta water until your sauce has reached the desired consistency. I usually add a cup or so.
10. Plate, add a shit ton of parm and enjoy.

[/directions]

My husband and I started the tradition of Pasta Sunday when we started dating, over five years ago, and it has quickly grown to be one of our favorite traditions. I’ve tried countless pre-made sauces, and other recipes but Matt will always claim that this is his favorite. He may be trying to earn brownie points, avoid hurting my feelings, or be telling the truth – I’ll never know. Either way, it makes my heart soar.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Okay, I gotta go. A Chef’s Table just called. They want me. And honestly, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Bai. 

You can find more Pasta Sunday recipes on my Instagram highlights!