Pasta alla Norcina Recipe (Truffle Pasta with Sausage and Ricotta)
A traditional truffle pasta recipe from Norcia in Italy! 'Pasta alla Norcina' has truffle, sausage, onions and a creamy ricotta cheese sauce.
Equipment
- 1 grater or zester if using fresh truffle
- 1 large skillet or pan
- 1 Large Pot for cooking the pasta
Ingredients
- 4 whole sausage crumbled; NOT 'Italian' sausage but a simple sausage with wine, garlic, black pepper, etc.
- ½ large onion minced
- black truffle to taste
- ½ cup white wine Pinot Grigio is a good choice
- 7 oz whole milk ricotta preferably sheep's milk ricotta
- 1¾ oz pecorino cheese grated, to taste on top
- 11 oz penne pasta or another tube pasta
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch fine salt or to taste
- 2 handfuls coarse salt to salt the pasta water
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Mince the onion. Remove the casings from the sausage and crumble it.½ large onion, 4 whole sausage
Sauté the Onions
- Add olive oil to the bottom of a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Sauté the minced onions in the olive oil until they are translucent and soft.5 tbsp olive oil
Cook the Sausage
- Add the sausage crumbles to the sautéed onion. Cook the sausage over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until no longer pink. Salt to taste.1 pinch fine salt
- Add the white wine to the sausage to de-glaze the pan. In the meantime...½ cup white wine
Cook the Pasta
- While the onions and sausage (next step) are cooking, bring a large stock pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Add the penne pasta to the boiling water along with 2 handfuls of coarse salt.2 handfuls coarse salt, 11 oz penne pasta
- Cook the penne pasta according to the package instructions for 'al dente.'
Make the Ricotta Sauce
- Add a few ladles of hot pasta water a little at a time to the ricotta cheese.7 oz whole milk ricotta
- Whisk the cheese with the hot pasta water until it is cream and smooth. You can also use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to do this job.
Combine Penne with the Sausage and Onions
- Add the cooked, drained penne pasta to the sausage and onions in the pan. Then, add the truffle (to taste). If you are using whole truffle, you'll want to grate it fresh into the pan. Give everything a good mix!black truffle
Add the Ricotta Sauce
- Mix the creamy ricotta sauce in with the pasta off of the heat.
Top with Pecorino Cheese
- Top with freshly grated pecorino cheese and serve!1¾ oz pecorino cheese
Video
Notes
Whole Black Truffle Alternatives?
Whole fine black truffle is expensive and hard to find.
You can use a whole summer black truffle or a truffle infused oil or paste as an alternative.
Not 'Italian' Sausage
Don't use fennel-heavy 'Italian Sausage' sold outside of Italy for this recipe. This kind of sausage is almost never used in traditional Italian recipes. Instead choose a simple sausage with wine, garlic, salt and black pepper.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!