Pasta alla Norcina is an inviting first course that originates in Norcia, Umbria, and is linked to the tradition of the norcini, who were masters of pork processing since the Middle Ages.
It is based on sausage and sheep ricotta used in the original version, while today some people use cream instead and add local black truffle shaved on top.
I tried it for the first time myself and it is really delicious.
It’s a creamy first course to lick your lips that I made for today’s lunch 🙂
For the pasta I used whole-wheat linguine but you can also use short pasta like macaroni, penne, rigatoni, etc.
Since I didn’t have black truffle, I used black pepper instead.
So if you haven’t tried it yet, here’s the perfect occasion to make it 😀
P.S.: I also recommend trying:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 605.64 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 52.73 (g) of which sugars 5.42 (g)
- Proteins 27.76 (g)
- Fat 32.08 (g) of which saturated 5.73 (g)of which unsaturated 2.25 (g)
- Fibers 5.68 (g)
- Sodium 958.15 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 280 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Pasta alla Norcina
- 11 1/4 oz whole-wheat linguine
- 10 1/2 oz sausage
- 7 oz sheep ricotta
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup grated Grana Padano
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Pot
- 1 Knife
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Wooden spoon
Steps for Pasta alla Norcina
Chop the onion, slightly score the sausage to remove the casing and roughly break it up with your hands.
In a pan pour a tablespoon of oil with the chopped onion and the whole garlic clove, let it sauté for about 5 minutes. If it becomes too dry, add a little water.
Then add the broken-up sausage and cook for another 5 minutes or until it is golden. Turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente in a pot of abundant salted water, reserving a ladleful of cooking water.
Remove the garlic from the pan, turn the heat back on and add the sheep ricotta with the reserved ladleful of water.
Stir, add the pasta and toss for about 2 more minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the grated Grana Padano cheese, salt and pepper.
Stir again, serve immediately while hot and enjoy 🙂
