Handmade Umbricelli Pasta with Black Truffle from Norcia Culinary Tour

Umbricelli pasta from Umbria is very similar to Tuscany’s “pici” pasta, basically a thick, hand-rolled spaghetti-shaped pasta. Here the recipe, which hails from Executive chef Valentino Palmisano of the Michelin-star Ristorante Vespasia, is paired with a simple truffle sauce, which is emblematic of Norcia. You can learn to make Umbricelli and other delicious dishes during our wonderful Italy cooking tour, A Food Lover’s Paradise in Norcia.

Norcia, like the entire region of Umbria, is famed for being a foodie’s heaven. It is full of gourmet shops featuring local cured meats, cheeses, truffles, legumes, grains, and vegetables of the region. Every dish is a tour-de-force of Umbrian flavors, such as those experienced in this recipe.

Browse all our cooking vacations in Umbria.

Handmade Umbricelli Pasta with Black Truffle from Norcia

Serves: 4
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Cook method: Boil

Ingredients:

For the umbricelli pasta:

• 120 gr flour
• 80 gr semolina flour
• 110 gr hot water
• 1 egg white
• salt to taste

For the truffle sauce:

• 20 gr extra virgin olive oil
• 50 + 10 gr black truffle
• 5 gr anchovies
• vegetable stock
• 2 gr Sea Salt

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Instructions:

1. For the umbricelli pasta: mix both types of flour, form a well, sprinkle with salt, then add the egg white, mix and gradually add hot water to form a dough. (The amount of water will vary depending on the flour and the conditions in your kitchen.) The dough should be soft but not sticky, and knead it for about 5 minutes, or until smooth.

2. Set the dough aside to relax, covered, for about 10 minutes.

3. Keeping the dough covered as you work, pinch off a walnut-sized piece, then roll with your hands to form a snake. Keep doing this until all the dough has been formed in the pasta.

4. Boil the pasta in salted water for a couple of minutes – fresh pasta cooks quickly!

5. For the sauce: slightly heat the olive oil and add the anchovy, breaking it up. Add 50 gr of black truffle, a pinch of salt, and enough vegetable stock to form a sauce. Add the umbricelli to the pan, toss together quickly, then serve with additional black truffle grate on top.

Don’t forget to pair it with an appropriate wine! Buon Appetito!

Learn more about Norcia, Italy.

Learn to cook Umbrian dishes with Chef Valentino during our 4-night or 6-night Food Lover’s Paradise in Norcia cooking vacation, or during our wonderful Cooking & Walking in Umbria culinary tour.

By Peg Kern

Interested in more pasta recipes? Try these dishes from our cooking vacations in Italy:

• Pasta Medici from Cooking under the Tuscan Sun
• Homemade Ravioli from Cook in the Heart of Chianti
• Ancient Grain Pasta with “Sugo Finto” from Living the Real Tuscan Dream
• Pasta alla norma from our Sicily cooking vacations

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