Pasta, but Make It Easy
Alterations aren’t just for clothes. Recently, I found myself in the position where 1) I desperately wanted some Pasta Alla Norcina from my favorite Italian restaurant, Tortino, 2) I didn’t feel like going in to the city for dinner and 3) after looking up the recipe, realized I didn’t have any black truffles in the house. Yeah, like you keep those on hand (rolls eyes). The only other option was to make the dish with a few substitutions.
I didn’t use traditional Italian pork sausage from Umbria-Italian turkey sausage from the grocery store would have to do. Shout out to Shady Brook Farms! I also omitted the garlic, which I’m normally a fan of, but it makes cuddling with my husband “difficult”.
One resource that I’ve come to really appreciate in times like this are the comments under a recipe. I looked at about five different versions of Pasta Alla Norcina and was able to figure out how to keep the same flavor profile with what I could get easily from my local grocer.
Pasta Alla Norcina
Ingredients:
- 3 sweet Italian turkey sausage links, 3 spicy Italian Sausage Links
- 1 Small Onion, diced
- 2 Tablespoons EVOO
- 1 Cup of White Wine
- 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 cup pecorino cheese
- 2 tablespoons of Fresh Parsley, chopped
Directions:
- Remove turkey sausage from casings, and cook thoroughly over medium heat, breaking up the meat with a large wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks.
- Continue browning the sausage, then add in the EVOO and diced onion. Cook until the onions have started to soften and the sausage is fully cooked-no pink areas should be visible.
- Add in the white wine, and cook for a few minutes until the wine has began to cook off and the amount has reduced by half.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream, and season with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and continue cooking the sauce for about 10 minutes.
- Let the sauce simmer while you cook your pasta (I used cavatappi).
- Before draining the pasta, remove one cup of water from the pot and add it to the cream sauce. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Plate your pasta and sprinkle some parsley on top, then enjoy!
