Pasta alla Norcina

Pasta alla norcina is a typical recipe from Umbria; specifically the ancient town of Norcia, famous for its sausages and cured meats. There are actually two versions of pasta alla norcina. This one is made with Norcia sausage crumbled into a pan with oil and onion, fresh cream, truffle and pecorino.

This is a very simple recipe with few ingredients but so flavourful and creamy you’ll want to make it part of your regular pasta menu.

Remove the casing from the sausages and crumble the meat filling. Peel and chop the onion finely. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta, add salt and bring to the boil again. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft then add the crumbled sausage meat. Brown the sausage, while stirring to prevent it from sticking. Pour in the wine. Allow the alcohol to evaporate (while stirring). Lower the heat, cover, and finish cooking the sausage in its own juices for 10 minutes. Uncover, taste and season with salt and pepper as required. Pour in the cream and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Add a few truffle shavings and half the pecorino. Reduce the sauce for 3–4 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover and set aside. Cook the pasta in the salted boiling water until al dente. Save some of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add it to the pan with the sausage and cream sauce. Over a low heat, mix the pasta and sauce together. Serve with a generous sprinkling of grated pecorino, some freshly ground black pepper and truffle shavings.

400g pasta, 2-3 Italian pork sausages, 1 onion white or yellow, 1-2 black truffle, 200 ml fresh cream, 1/2 glass white wine, 50 g pecorino cheese grated, 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt for pasta and to taste and black pepper.