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Meat, Italy

Pasta alla norcina

Pasta alla norcina is an Italian dish from Umbria made with penne or rigatoni, crumbled sausage, and a cream sauce with pecorino and nutmeg. For 4 people, it takes 30 minutes, it's rated easy, and it costs about €2.70 per serving. The key to getting it right is crumbling and browning the sausage well without its casing, which gives the sauce all its flavor.

Tonight, short pasta with crumbled sausage and cream, flavored with nutmeg and pecorino, Umbrian style.

Pasta alla norcina
Total time
30 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€2.70
Calories per person
840 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Fall, Winter
The kids
They generally like it

Pasta alla norcina comes from Umbria, an Italian region known for its pork charcuterie. Here, sausage stands in for the traditional Norcia salami, crumbled and browned until nearly crisp, then folded into a cream sauce scented with nutmeg. Pecorino adds the salt and sharpness this otherwise mild dish would be missing.

It's a weeknight dish that barely requires any technique, perfect for when you get home late and want something comforting without spending the evening at the stove. Kids tend to love it without hesitation, since the crumbled sausage resembles the ground meat they already know. Mon Chou often suggests it on cool fall and winter evenings, when a creamy sauce sounds better than a salad.

The ingredients

4 people

Pantry

  • Pasta (penne or rigatoni)often in the pantry 400 g
  • Dry white wineoften in the pantry 10 cl
  • Nutmegoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Butcher

  • Toulouse sausages 4

Dairy

  • Light cream 20 cl
  • Grated pecorino 60 g

Fruits and vegetables

  • Shallot 1

Allergens Gluten, Lactose

The step by step recipe

  1. Remove the casing from the sausages and crumble the meat.

    No need for oil, the sausage releases its own fat.

  2. Brown the crumbled sausage in a pan with the oil and shallot. 8 min

    Break the meat into small pieces as it cooks.

  3. Deglaze with the white wine, let it reduce, then add the cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. 5 min

    Go easy on the salt, the pecorino is already salty.

  4. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. 11 min

    Save some of the cooking water.

  5. Toss the pasta with the sauce and stir in the pecorino off the heat.

    Loosen with a splash of cooking water if the sauce thickens too much.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick fattier sausages rather than lean ones, the fat they release while cooking replaces the oil and flavors the whole sauce.
  • Let the white wine reduce fully before adding the cream, otherwise the sauce keeps a sharp edge that masks the nutmeg.
  • Stir in the pecorino off the heat and mix quickly, the residual warmth is enough to melt it without turning it grainy.

The variations

  • Swap the Toulouse sausages for plain Italian sausage meat if you can find it, the flavor gets closer to the original dish.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the sausage with sliced button mushrooms browned in the pan, the texture still feels satisfying.
  • For kids in a hurry, blend the sauce a bit less chunky and serve with small pasta shapes like ditalini, it goes down even easier.

What to serve it with

  • A sharply dressed arugula salad
  • Crusty bread for mopping up sauce
  • A glass of the same dry white wine

Storage

Keep pasta alla norcina for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Freezing isn't recommended, the cream sauce can split when thawed. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water or milk to bring the sauce back together.

Questions about this dish

Can you use heavy cream instead of light cream?

Yes, heavy cream works fine, the sauce will just be a bit thicker. Thin it out with a little pasta cooking water if needed to get the right texture.

Can you make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, you can cook the sausage sauce a few hours ahead and reheat it gently before serving. Add the pecorino only at the very end, once it's mixed with the pasta.

What cheese can replace pecorino?

Parmesan can stand in for pecorino, though the flavor will be milder and less salty. In that case, add a touch more salt to the sauce to compensate.

Why remove the casing before cooking the sausage?

Without the casing, the meat crumbles easily and browns evenly in the pan. That crumbly texture is exactly what defines an alla norcina sauce.

How long does it take to make a pasta alla norcina?

Count 30 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a pasta alla norcina?

About 840 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a pasta alla norcina cost?

About €2.70 per serving, or €10.80 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, lactose. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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