Pasta alla Norcina, Creamy Sausage and Truffle Pasta

Pasta alla Norcina is a rich and unbelievably good pasta dish from Umbria. Made with Italian sausage and white wine in a creamy truffle sauce topped with Pecorino cheese. It's indulgent, decadent and full of good flavour plus it's ready in 30 minutes!

Pasta alla Norcina is complete and utter comfort food heaven. It comes from Norcia, a small town in Umbria that's famous for its exceptional pork butchery and cured meats.

Norcia is so well-renowned for its meat and butchery that 'Norcino' is a term used in Italy to refer to specialised butchers, skilled in preparing and preserving Norcia cured meats and sausages.

Norcia sausages can be difficult to find outside of Italy but if you can use good quality Italian sausages (not spicy ones) you'll have yourself one good bowl of pasta indeed.

Umbria is also well known for its black truffles making this dish extra indulgent and decadent.

The creamy truffle sauce is good a dish you'll want to make again and again when you're in the mood for something comforting.

One top tip is to let the sausages and onion almost caramelise then deglaze the pan with wine, scraping all those brown bits of flavour into the sauce.

As for the truffle, you can use truffle paste or oil but use it sparingly and add it to taste as many brands will differ in intensity. You want to taste the truffle without it being overpowering. Of course, if you're lucky enough to get your hands on fresh truffle (white or black) use that.

Enjoy this pasta topped with a good grating of pecorino and a glass of vino!

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Pasta – use good quality short pasta for this recipe such as penne or rigatoni. Penne pasta is most commonly used.
• Italian sausages – Norcina sausages are extremely hard to find but as long as you use good quality Italian sausages (don't use spicy/hot sausage) the pasta will taste good.
• White wine – we used Pinot Grigio but most Italian white wines will work well. As always avoid cooking wine.
• Truffle – traditionally fresh black truffle is used and if you're lucky enough to get your hands on one you'll be in for a treat. Alternatively, you can use truffle paste or oil (white or black). Add it to taste as a lot of brands vary in intensity.
• Pecorino – you can use Pecorino Romano or Staginato although Parmigiano Reggiano is a good substitute.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

This is a visual guide to help you with each step. For the full written recipe, ingredient amounts and tips scroll to the recipe card below.

1. Brown the sausage – remove the sausage from the skins and brown it for a couple of minutes in a pan breaking it up with a wooden spoon (photo 1).
2. Add onion – add the finely chopped onion and saute it with the sausage until caramelised and starting to turn golden (photos 2 and 3).

1. Add pasta – before you add the wine, add the pasta to plenty of salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
2. Deglaze – add the wine to the pan and scrape the brown bits with a wooden spoon (there's a lot of flavour there). Let the wine reduce by half (photos 3 and 4).
3. Add the cream – Next, add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer for a few minutes. Add the pecorino followed by the truffle pasta or oil. Taste the sauce and add truffle to taste, it shouldn't be overpowering (photos 5-7).

1. Add pasta – add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir to coat then serve in bowls topped with more Pecorino (photo 8).

Mains

Zuppa alla Valpellinese (Cheese and Cabbage Casserole)

Pasta

Pasta alla Zozzona (Roman 'Dirty Pasta')

Soups

Butternut Squash Pasta Soup with Crispy Pancetta

Soups

Minestra di Riso (Italian Rice Soup)

Ingredients

Makes 4 - 6 servings

• 14 oz (400g) Penne pasta
• 4 Italian sausages ((around 350g/12oz))
• 1 white onion (finely chopped)
• ½ cup (125ml) white wine (we used Pinot Grigio)
• 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) heavy (double) cream
• truffle paste or truffle oil (to taste (see notes))
• Pecorino Romano
• salt

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Finely chop the onion.

2. Heat a large pan on a medium heat. Remove the sausages from their casing and brown in the pan for 2-3 minutes breaking them with the side of a wooden spoon

3. Once browned, add the finely chopped onion and saute with the sausage until caramelised, about 7-8 minutes. Do this on a medium heat, the onion should go soft and translucent then start to turn golden but don't let it burn.

4. When the onion is done add your pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.

5. Next, add the white wine to the pan to deglaze. Scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Let the wine reduce by half.

6. Once reduced, add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer until the pasta is ready.

7. Just before adding the pasta stir the truffle paste or oil into the creamy sauce. We recommend adding a little at a time and taste, it shouldn't be overpowering.

8. Add a grating of Pecorino cheese then add the pasta and toss to coat in the sauce.

9. Serve in bowls topped with more grated Pecorino cheese.

Kitchen notes

• Top tip caramelising the onion and sausage together adds a lot of flavour. Do this on a medium heat until the onion is soft, translucent and starting to turn golden but don't let it burn. When you deglaze the pan with wine scrape all those brown bits from the bottom of the pan, there's so much flavour there!
• Adding truffle if you are using fresh black truffle grate or finely slice it over each bowl of pasta at the end. If using truffle paste or oil you can use white or black truffle but add it sparingly especially if using oil as it can be quite pungent. Add it to taste to make sure it doesn't overpower the other flavours.
• Italian sausages try to avoid sausages with fennel or chilli flakes as they'll change the flavour of the dish.
• Leftovers because this is a crea-based sauce it's best eaten immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated in a pan with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
• Freezing We do not recommend freezing this pasta or sauce.