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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.
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.
