You will definitely enjoy this rich and creamy pasta alla Norcina recipe from Umbria, Italy. It only takes 40 minutes to make and uses just a handful of ingredients. This pasta recipe is Italian comfort food at its best. Perfect for a family dinner but also impressive enough to wow your guests.
History of Pasta alla Norcina.
Pasta alla norcina is a typical recipe from Umbria, specifically the ancient town of Norcia, famous for its rich tradition of sausage 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, onion, fresh cream, truffle, and Pecorino Romano cheese. It's a very simple recipe with few ingredients but so flavorful and creamy that you'll want to make it part of your regular pasta menu.
The other version of pasta alla norcina is usually made with long pasta like spaghetti or tagliatelle, which is dressed with only black truffles, garlic and anchovies, to which you can also add foraged mushrooms. I'm looking forward to giving that version a try soon. But for now let's talk about this one!
Norcia is a little town with a big culinary reputation!
The Umbria region is well-known for its pork, hams, sausages, and other cured meats. The best of these come from the Umbrian town of Norcia, also known as Nursia in English.
This ancient town has become so famous for its method of pork butchery and preparation of cured meats, that butchers across Italy now use the term ‘norcino’ to refer to all kinds of meat preserved in the ‘Norcia’ way and the name ‘norcineria’ is used for butcher shops that specialize in preparing, curing and selling pork products.
Norcia is also famous for black truffles. In fact, the truffles found around Norcia are highly prized and considered a gastronomic gem. Every year, at the end of February or the beginning of March, there is an important Italian Black Truffle fair in the town.
Visitors to the fair can taste all the gastronomic specialties of Umbrian cuisine, and especially those with truffles, of course. These specialties include cured meat and cheese seasoned with truffles, as well as pasta dishes like pasta alla norcina.
Ingredient List and Notes
Pasta: This recipe is usually prepared with short tubular pasta such as penne or rigatoni. I used Italian maccheroni made by La Molisana, but you can also use other types of short pasta.
Italian Pork Sausages: Since Norcia sausages can be hard to come by outside of Italy, feel free to substitute them for another type of high-quality sweet Italian pork sausage. I would try to find Italian sausage without fennel seeds but with garlic if possible, or rosemary. A spicy Italian sausage would alter the flavor of the delicious sauce.
Onions: They're finely chopped to add a subtle sweetness and depth to the sauce.
White Wine: A dry white wine is preferred to enhance the sauce with added flavor and slight acidity that balances the richness of the cream. I like to use a sauvignon blanc.
Fresh Cream: Creates the creamy, indulgent base of the sauce that pasta alla Norcina is known for. You can use single or heavy cream.
Black Truffles (optional): They bring a luxurious depth with an earthy and rich taste, elevating the dish.
Pecorino Cheese: Grated Pecorino is added to the sauce to add richness and also grated on top of the pasta. If Pecorino is unavailable, you can substitute it with Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil to add the most flavor.
How to remove the sausage casing
In many traditional Italian sausage pasta recipes, including pasta alla Norcina, Italians remove the casing from the sausages and use the richly flavored ground meat. It's incredibly delicious and easy to do:
- Cut the Casing: Use a sharp knife to make a lengthwise cut along the sausage.
- Peel Away the Casing: Starting from one end, use your fingers to gently peel the casing away from the meat. It should come off easily.
- Break Up the Meat: Once you've removed the casing, you can break up or crumble the sausage meat into small chunks.
Step by Step Instructions
1) In a large bowl, remove the casings from the sausages and crumble the meat. Discard the casings and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Peel and chop the onion.
2) In a large frying pan or large skillet, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened. Add the crumbled sausage to the pan. Cook until browned, breaking any large pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon.
3) Add white wine, stirring constantly, and cook until the wine has mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.
4) Lower the heat, cover, and simmer the sausage for 10 minutes in its juices. Season with salt and pepper.
5) Uncover, add fresh cream and truffle shavings (if using), along with half of the grated pecorino cheese. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly, then remove from heat.
6) Meanwhile, salt the pasta water and bring it to the boil again. Then, cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Reserve some cooking water before draining.
7) Add the drained al dente pasta to the sausage sauce, mixing over low heat. If needed, adjust the consistency with reserved starchy pasta water.
8) Plate your pasta alla norcina, topped with the remaining pecorino, fresh black pepper, and more truffle shavings if desired. Serve immediately.
Storage and Leftovers
Storing Leftovers: After enjoying your meal, let any remaining leftovers cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Properly stored, it can last for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Place a portion of the pasta Norcina in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it. Heat on medium power for 2 minutes, then stir. Continue heating in 30-60 second intervals, stirring in between, until the pasta is hot throughout.
FAQs
To be honest, rather than using truffle oil, I'd probably leave the truffle out. Although, you could try just a tiny amount of truffle oil or perhaps some truffle paste. However, even in Umbria, this dish is often served without truffles when they're not available or out of season. I used frozen truffles as I'm lucky enough to source truffles from the area I live in and often freeze them for later use!
The dish is named after Norcia, a small town in Umbria that is famous for its sausages and hams made from wild boar and pork.
You can enjoy the same white wine used in the recipe. A medium-bodied or full-bodied dry white wine, such as an Italian Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc, will really complement the rich flavor of the creamy sauce.
More recipes you may like:
If you’re interested in more delicious recipes like this one, have a look at my favorite Italian sausage pasta recipes.
- Tagliolini pasta alla Langarola
- Bigoli pasta with Luganega sausage
- Elephant garlic pasta
- Malloreddus with sausage, tomatoes and saffron
- Gramigna with sausage from Bologna
- Sausage and saffron pasta alla monzese
If you make this pasta Norcina recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Buon appetito!
How to Make Pasta alla Norcina (sausage pasta recipe)
Ingredients
- 14 oz penne or other short pasta
- 2-3 Italian pork sausages
- 1 onion white or yellow
- 1-2 black truffles I used 2 small ones (optional)
- 7 fl oz fresh cream single or heavy cream
- 2.5 fl oz white wine
- 2 oz pecorino cheese freshly grated
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt for pasta and to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, remove the casings from the sausages and crumble the meat. Discard the casings and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Peel and chop the onion.
- In a large frying pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened. Add the crumbled sausage to the pan. Cook until browned, breaking any large pieces with a spatula.
- Add white wine, stirring constantly, and cook until the wine has mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat, cover, and simmer the sausage for 10 minutes in its juices. Season with salt and pepper.
- Uncover, add fresh cream and truffle shavings (if using), along with half of the grated pecorino cheese. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly, then remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, salt the pasta water and bring it to the boil again. Then, cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Reserve some cooking water before draining.
- Add the drained pasta to the sausage sauce, mixing over low heat. If needed, adjust the consistency with reserved pasta water.
- Plate the pasta, topped with the remaining pecorino, fresh black pepper, and more truffle shavings if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for Later:
If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of one of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some recommended pasta making tools?
NigeB says
Absolutely sensational recipe. Taste far outweighs the effort needed. I had some lumacomi lurking at the back of the cupboard and it worked well (even though i Norcianesi would probably throw up their collective hands in horror!)
Jacqui says
Thanks for your review Nige. I agree pasta alla Norcina is sensational. I've eaten it in Norcia and make it myself. Definitely a favorite!
Mimi Rippee says
What a perfect pasta recipe!
Sonja says
Ok, I admit I cheated a little, as I certainly didn't have truffles and so I used truffle oil that I found online. And my god this was good! So quick, yet so much flavor! I'd have this anytime over bolognese or similar.
Amy Liu Dong says
Wow! Another awesome pasta dish that everyone will gonna love and enjoy! Plus this looks amazingly delicious! We can never go wrong with pasta. Loved it!
Melinda says
I was so excited to make this recipe, I went ahead and tried it before I bought black truffles. It was so simple and absolutely delicious. My family said it reminded them of a pasta recipe from an Italian restaurant. I will be making creamy pasta alla Norcina again, and can't wait to taste how the truffles add to the flavor.
Ashley says
Such a yummy comforting pasta dish! I noticed that you garnished with fresh rosemary so I did that too and it was a great addition!
Liz says
We LOVED this pasta!! The sausage provided incredible flavor and who doesn't love a cream sauce??? YUM!
Cassandra Braithwaite says
A sensational dish. We sourced from our butcher wagyu, parmesan and truffle sausages which proved a fantastic basis for this recipe as the truffle was already in the sausages. Definitely a fantastic recipe. Cannot wait to make this again.
Sandy says
perhaps I'm missing something or just ignorant, but how much is "half a glass" of wine?
Jacqui says
Hi Sandy. A standard serving of wine is 5oz so half would be 2.5oz. I will add this info to the recipe to make it clearer. Thanks for your comment.
CindyL says
Oh my goodness! This has my name written all over it so thank you so much for sharing! This is what we're going to have for the Feast of St. Francis this year, which brings me to my question. Do you have any recommendations on some vegetable sides for this? Would an olive oil and a balsamic reduction drizzled over radicchio as it's roasting be a good pairing, or is that not Umbrian? That would figure. Anyway, any suggestions you have would be wonderful! Thank you!
Jacqui says
Hi Cindy, I'm sure you'll love this recipe. It's so good. In Italy, pasta isn't really eaten with a side dish as it's often a starter. However, in Umbria they make a lot of side dishes with small lentils as the region is famous for its mountain lentils. They also have a well known side dish called bandiera made with lightly sautéed green bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Green beans are also a traditional side dish cooked in different ways. Do let me know how your pasta alla Norcina turns out.
Brighid says
Doubled the recipe and it was fantastic. Didn't have truffles but I used truffle salt in the pasta water as well as the sauce and thought it tasted delicious. Also added garlic as suggested. I'm a huge garlic fan so wouldn't mind a bit more next time. Otherwise, perfect as is!
Deborah says
This recipe looks so delicious. I love Italian sausage, but have never used it in a cream sauce for pasta. Living here in the US I will try a little truffle paste (and I really like the comment above from someone who make truffle butter and freezes it. What a great idea!)
Mario Rossi says
yes fresh ground pork, minced garlic, fresh minced rosemary and nutmeg to taste
Celeste Gobeille says
I fell in love with this dish in Assisi years ago. If I want to avoid the fennel, can I just use ground pork and add.....what? Thanks.
Jacqui says
Hi Celeste thanks for your comment. I'm not sure about what you mean by avoiding fennel. There's no fennel in this recipe. I just mentioned it's better not to use sausages made with fennel in them. Plain Italian or other pork sausages or those made with garlic or rosemary are better. Sausages have a different flavour to ground pork but, of course, you can use it. I would add a little rosemary if you want to include a herb.
Brighid says
Near where I live it's hard to find a place that sells sausage without fennel. I think Celeste was saying if she just buys plain ground pork how would she adjust the flavors to match italian sausage, thus avoiding using the ones with fennel. Or are the two nothing alike?
Jacqui says
Hi Brighid, thanks for your comment. Traditional sausages from Norcia don't have fennel, in fact they have very few spices just salt, pepper, garlic and sometimes wine. So I guess you could use ground pork. Italian sausage in US has fennel and other spices but here in Italy we have many types of 'Italian' sausage. If you can find plain pork sausages (not Italian) you could also try those instead.
Marilyn says
Delicious! I always keep truffle butter in my freezer. With so little entertaining this sad year, I skipped purchasing “extravagant extras” like truffles and the butter version is a good substitute. I heated it with the cream in a small saucepan and then added it to the sausage. I think it worked just fine. Thank you for the recipe.
Richard H. says
I made this recipe for my wife. We used truffle carpaccio (in oil) since we didn’t have dry truffle. I also used rigatoni. I also added a little garlic and basil, which is probably frowned upon, but it was so good.
This was such a delicious and simple dish. It was so flavorful. If we bought it in a restaurant this would easily be $25-$30 a dish. I think it cost us $6-7 total. We are thrilled to have a new pasta recipe in our arsenal.. Thank you so much!
Emily Laguna says
This was delicious! I hope I did not break some sacred rule, but I used red wine rather than white because it's what I had on hand. I did not add truffles. I topped it with chopped parsley. Had 3 servings...
Kai Ewe says
Thx for the recipe. Instead of fresh truffle, can I use black truffle sauce in a bottle?
Jacqui says
Hi Kai, yes I think you can add a little truffle oil or sauce. But not too much as the flavour will be strong! You can also make this recipe without truffle too! Enjoy!
Kai Ewe says
Thanks!! I'm also thinking adding porcini mushroom and ricotta cheese, when should I add them?
Jacqui says
Hi Kai, if you are using dried porcini, don't forget to soak them for at least 30 minutes before adding them. I would add the mushrooms after adding the sausage. The ricotta can be added with the cream!
Stan says
My family and I just got back from a 10 day tour of Italy; Venice, Pisa, Florence, Rome, and Pompei. My wife had a tracked this recipe down as it was a dish she had in Florence so I made it for her. I followed the recipe to the gram and it came out perfecto! Literally one of the tastiest things I've ever made. Now to track down the ragu we had in a farmhouse in Tuscany!
Stan says
Forgot to mention, her dish had rosemary in it and I do believe it's in your picture of the dish but not the ingredients. She just so happened to be growing some so I used the leaves of a 2inch sprig. Added it in with the cream. Bene!
KG says
Loved this! Thx!