Pasta alla Norcina - Pasta with salsiccia, white wine and cream
Recipe for pasta alla Norcina - an ultra-simple pasta with salsiccia, white wine, Parmesan and cream.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 500 g pasta
- 300 g salsiccia (Italian fresh pork sausage - if the pack is 400 g, that is fine too)
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 250 ml whipping cream (38% fat)
- 150 ml white wine
- 100 g Parmesan, finely grated - *see the introduction about pecorino
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pasta cooking water
- Oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the shallot and garlic for a couple of minutes.
- Remove the casings from the sausages and crumble the meat into the pan.Fry over fairly high heat, stirring now and then, until the meat starts to brown.
- Pour in the white wine and let it reduce slightly, then add the cream and season with pepper.*Leave the sauce over medium heat while the pasta finishes cooking.
- Lift the pasta straight from the cooking water into the pan and toss it with the sauce.
- Add the Parmesan and stir it into the sauce, then adjust the consistency with a little pasta cooking water.
- Season to taste with pepper - salt should not be needed - and let the dish stand over very low heat for a minute or so to come together.*The starch from the pasta will make the sauce thicken and cling to the pasta, so you may need to add a little more pasta cooking water just before serving.
- Serve topped with freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of Parmesan, if you like.