Pasta alla Norcina (Creamy Pasta with Sausage)
This hearty Italian pasta hails from the town of Norcia located in Umbria, and is loaded with homemade sausage and mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce.
Serves4 to 6
Prep15 minutes
Cook20 minutes
I’m all about saucy, rich pasta dishes as soon as the temperature starts to dip. One of my go-to’s is this hearty dish known as pasta alla Norcina, which comes from the Italian town of Norcia.
Made with homemade pork sausage, cremini mushrooms, a creamy white wine sauce, and finished with a shower of grated Pecorino Romano cheese, this cozy pasta comes together in just over 30 minutes.
What Is Pasta Alla Norcina?
Pasta alla Norcina hails from the town of Norcia located in southeastern Umbria. There, the town is known for two local specialties: sausage and truffles. This traditional dish combines cooked pasta with juicy sausage, a rich white wine-based cream sauce, and shavings of black truffle.
While you can use the widely available Italian sausage that’s available in the U.S., the final flavor of the dish won’t be the same. That’s because sausage made in Norcia tends to be milder in flavor, relying on garlic, white wine, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In this recipe, I call for easily making your own sausage at home with ground pork, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and some chopped fresh rosemary for added aromatics.
Since fresh black truffles are expensive and rather hard to source, I add sliced cremini mushrooms, which help bump up the earthiness of the pasta.
How to Make Pasta Alla Norcina
- Prep your ingredients. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Prep the mushrooms, shallot, garlic, rosemary, and Pecorino cheese.
- Make homemade sausage. Mix together rosemary, most of the minced garlic, ground pork, salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg in a bowl. Then, shape the mixture into a flat, round patty that’s about 1/2-inch thick.
- Cook the sausage. Add the sausage patty to a large, high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven and cook until well browned on the bottom side. Flip and break the sausage into smaller pieces using a wooden spoon.
- Make the creamy sauce. Add mushrooms, shallot, and the rest of the garlic to the pan and cook until softened. Pour in dry white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and simmer until slightly thickened. Turn off the heat, add the cheese, and stir to combine.
- Finish the pasta. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Return the sauce to medium-high heat and add the pasta. Toss to coat, adding the reserved water as needed to make it saucy. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano if desired.
Pasta alla Norcina Recipe
This hearty Italian pasta hails from the town of Norcia located in Umbria, and is loaded with homemade sausage and mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce.
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 8 ounces
cremini mushrooms
- 1
medium shallot
- 4
cloves garlic, divided
- 1
sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 ounces
Pecorino Romano cheese (1 cup firmly packed freshly grated or 2/3 cup store-bought grated), plus more for serving
- 12 ounces
ground pork
- 2 teaspoons
kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon
freshly grated or ground nutmeg, divided
- 1 pound
dried short pasta, such as penne, (mezzi) rigatoni, or cavatappi
- 2 tablespoons
olive oil
- 1/2 cup
dry white wine
- 1 cup
heavy cream
Instructions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, thinly slice 8 ounces cremini mushrooms (about 4 cups). Finely chop 1 medium shallot (about 1/4 cup). Mince 4 garlic cloves. Pick the leaves from 1 fresh rosemary sprig and finely chop until you have 3/4 teaspoon. Finely grate 2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 cup), or measure 2/3 cup store-bought grated.
Place the rosemary, 3/4 of the minced garlic, 12 ounces ground pork, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the kosher salt, 3/4 teaspoon of the black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of the ground nutmeg in a medium bowl. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Keeping the sausage mixture in the bowl, shape it into a flat, round patty that’s about 1/2-inch thick.
Add 1 pound dried short pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the sausage patty and cook undisturbed until the bottom is golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the patty and, using a wooden spoon, break it up into 1/2-inch pieces.
Add the mushrooms and cook until sausage is just cooked through and the mushrooms are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shallot and remaining minced garlic and cook until softened, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and bring to a simmer. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the wine is reduced by about half, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup heavy cream, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the cheese, and stir to combine.
When the pasta is ready, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Return the pan of sauce to medium-high heat. Add the pasta and toss to coat, adding the reserved pasta water a little at a time as needed to get a saucy consistency. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Garnish with more grated Pecorino Romano if desired.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.