What’s better than an Italian sausage? Pasta alla norcina is a typical recipe from Umbria; specifically the ancient town of Norcia, famous for its sausages and cured meats. 

Ingredients

• 400g rigatoni (14oz) or other short pasta
• 2-3 Italian pork sausages
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 200 ml fresh double/heavy cream (6-7floz)
• 1/2 glass Italian white wine
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 50g pecorino cheese (2oz) grated
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Method

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

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the crumbled sausage meat.

Brown the sausage, while stirring with a wooden spatula to prevent it from sticking. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the wine. Allow the alcohol to evaporate while stirring. Lower the heat and finish cooking the sausage in its own juices for 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cream and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Add the sage and some pecorino and mix well. Reduce the sauce for 3–4 minutes.

Cook the pasta in the salted boiling water until al dente. Save some of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan with the sausage and cream sauce. 

Over a low heat, mix the pasta and sauce together– you can add a little pasta cooking water if it seems too thick.

Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of grated pecorino and some freshly ground black pepper. Buon appetito…