Pasta alla Norcina (Creamy Pasta with Sausage)
User Reviews
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
10 mins
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Total Time
25 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
833 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Italian
Pasta alla Norcina (Creamy Pasta with Sausage)
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Pasta alla Norcina is an easy, creamy pasta dish originating from an Umbrian town famous for its pork products. Unsurprisingly, this comforting pasta features crumbled pork sausage and a generous amount of salty and delicious pecorino Romano cheese.
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces (340 grams) pork sausage (preferably with garlic and without any fennel or chili)
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces (340 grams) short, tubular pasta such as penne or rigatoni, or orecchiette ("little ears")
- ½ cup (65 grams) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
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Instructions
- Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. If the pork sausage is in casings, remove the casings. Add the sausage and cook until browned, occasionally breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape up any bits of sausage sticking to the pan with your spoon.
- Add the onion, stir to combine and continue to cook until the onion has started to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in the wine and stir, scraping up any dried up bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer and cook until the wine has reduced by about half, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and continue to simmer for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened. Taste and season with pepper as needed (hold back on the salt for now because the pecorino Romano cheese is quite salty). Turn off the heat, cover, and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, boil the pasta in the pot of boiling salted water. Cook to al dente. Reserve some of the starchy pasta cooking water, in case you need it, then drain.
- Return the skillet of sausage and cream to low heat, add the drained pasta and grated pecorino Romano, and stir to coat. Continue to cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly until the sauce is thick and nicely coats the pasta but still has a bit of sauciness. You can thin it with some pasta water too if needed.
- Serve immediately with more pecorino Romano on the side and freshly grated black pepper over the top, if desired.
Notes
- This recipe is traditionally made with crumbled Norcia sausage, which is a very particular style of mild pork sausage which features garlic. Norcia sausage can be difficult to source in the United States, so you can use another Italian-style sausage that DOES NOT contain fennel or chili flakes. While you can choose to make your own homemade bulk sausage to emulate traditional Norcia sausage, I think using other store-bought sausages made with garlic (and without fennel and chili) is a reasonable substitute.
- I opted for some fresh garlic and herb sausages I found at the Whole Foods meat counter. Yes, they had a bit of herbs added, but it was really negligible. They also have a similar garlic and herb chicken sausage you could try if you want to lighten up the dish a bit, though that veers even further from the traditional.
- Get your water boiling while you chop the onion, remove the sausage from its casings, and measure the other ingredients. I like to get my water boiling in advance and then turn off the burner. When I'm ready, I turn it back to high and it's boiling almost instantly.
- Pasta alla Norcina traditionally uses pecorino Romano cheese, which is fairly salty. I find that other than boiling the salted pasta water, the sauce doesn't really need any additional salt, but taste and adjust to your liking. If you don't have pecorino Romano, you could use Parmigianno-Reggiano, but this cheese is less salty so season as needed.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
833kcal
(42%)
Carbohydrates
68g
(23%)
Protein
33g
(66%)
Fat
45g
(69%)
Saturated Fat
18g
(90%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
2g
Monounsaturated Fat
10g
Cholesterol
68mg
(23%)
Sodium
939mg
(39%)
Potassium
83mg
(2%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
6g
(12%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 833 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 833kcal | 42% |
| Carbohydrates | 68g | 23% |
| Protein | 33g | 66% |
| Fat | 45g | 69% |
| Saturated Fat | 18g | 90% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 10g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 68mg | 23% |
| Sodium | 939mg | 39% |
| Potassium | 83mg | 2% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
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