🇮🇹 Italian · Pasta
🍝 Umbricelli alla Norcina
Umbricelli alla Norcina
Thick, hand-rolled eggless noodles from Norcia dressed in a creamy sauce of crumbled sausage, cream, and a shaving of the region's famous black truffle.
Norcia has been synonymous with pork butchery for centuries, and the sauce named for it — 'alla norcina' — traditionally combines the town's excellent sausage with cream and truffle, tossed here with thick, chewy umbricelli, a close cousin of strangozzi and pici.
Ingredients
Equipment: Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Large pot, Sauté pan
- 400 g (3 cups) 00 flour
- 200 ml (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp) water, approximately
- Pinch of salt
- 400 g (14 oz) Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) dry white wine
- 200 ml (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp) heavy cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) fresh black truffle, plus more for shaving, or truffle paste
- 40 g (½ cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Combine the flour, water, and salt into a firm dough, kneading for 10 minutes. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into thick ropes and hand-roll into long, slightly irregular noodles, similar to a thick spaghetti.
- Warm the olive oil in a large pan and cook the crumbled sausage over medium heat until browned, breaking it into small pieces.
- Add the garlic and cook briefly, then pour in the wine and let it reduce by half.
- Stir in the cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Grate in most of the truffle and stir through, keeping some back for garnish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the umbricelli for 4–5 minutes until tender.
- Drain the pasta, reserving a little cooking water, and toss into the sauce with the Parmigiano, loosening with pasta water as needed.
- Plate and finish with a final shaving of truffle over the top.
Chef Tips
- Rolling the dough into thick, rustic strands by hand is traditional and part of the dish's character.
- Brown the sausage well before adding liquid — this builds the base flavor of the whole sauce.
- If fresh truffle isn't available, a good-quality truffle paste stirred in at the end is a reasonable substitute.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overcooking the cream sauce until it becomes too thick and heavy rather than lightly coating the pasta.
- Skipping the wine reduction, which balances the richness of the cream and sausage.
- Using bland sausage — a well-seasoned, fennel-forward Italian sausage makes a real difference here.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of protein from the sausage and cheese.
- Best enjoyed as an occasional, indulgent dish given its richness.
Cultural Note
Alla norcina sauce takes its name directly from Norcia, a town so associated with pork butchery that 'norcino' became the Italian word for a pork butcher throughout much of the country.
Storage & Serving
Storage: The sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of cream or milk to loosen.
Serve with: A medium-bodied red wine from Umbria