Pasta Alla Norcina
Pasta Alla Norcina (AKA Creamy Pasta with Sausage) is a cozy, comforting meal with savory sausage, white wine, nutty pecorino romano, and just a hint of nutmeg to really round out the dish. A perfect yet simple pasta to make to impress your guests or your family; this dish combines simple ingredients with bold, hearty flavors and a velvety sauce.
Ingredients
- 16 oz penne or mezzi rigatoni
- 2 tbsp evoo
- 1 lb sweet sausage casings removed (or ground sausage)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 12 oz cremini or white button mushrooms finely chopped
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 1 ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp black pepper plus freshly ground for garnish
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¾ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni 1 minute from al dente and reserve 1 cup of pasta water (you may not need all).
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large saute pan. Crumble the sausage meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes—season ½ tsp salt. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds more. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the mushrooms and season 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Spread the mushrooms out and let them cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked sausage back to the pot.
- Pour the white wine in and gently scrape any browned bits from the bottom. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the wine has reduced by half.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the heavy cream. Simmer until thickened slightly, 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and remaining salt.
- Transfer the pasta to the pot and add in the pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until the sauce coats the pasta, about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups total. Cook for 1 minute more until pasta is al dente. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter and cheese.
- Grind some fresh black pepper and stir it in. Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage: This is best consumed the same day, but leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4 days. Reheat in the microwave with a splash of cream or milk and stir every 30 seconds to prevent the sauce from separating. You can also reheat this in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
Pasta water is key here! Do NOT skip the water! Adding it to the sauce along with the pasta will give additional moisture that's needed to finish cooking the pasta.
The authentic version of this recipe has truffles. Why not use it? Truffles are extremely hard to find in a general supermarket and expensive. Mushrooms add that earthiness that it would've lacked otherwise. If you don't like mushrooms, feel free to leave them out. If you have truffles just lying around in your kitchen, by all means, shave those babies over the dish!