Norcia, Sausages and Lentils: A Winning Combination

I’ve been obsessed with Norcia of late; since I realized I missed “Nero Norcia”.  This festival spans two weekends at the end of February and the beginning of March, and celebrates all things having to do with black truffles.  Norcia is located in the southeast of Umbria and though it is a little out of the way, it’s well worth a visit.  Located near the Sibillini Mountains, Norcia is a hunter’s paradise, especially for hunters seeking the thrill of chasing a wild boar, or for foragers seeking truffles.  As such, this little town is overflowing with really delicious earthy food.  This is a town for steaks, sausages, and of course the ever prevalent black truffle.  In fact, this town is so famous for its sausages and meats that there are shops (all over Italy) called “norcineria”. These shops sell nothing but pork products.  These are the shops to look for when shopping for prosciutto, guanciale, coppiette, salumi, etc.

There is another product the area of Norcia is famous for as well, and that is lentils or lenticchie.  These are grown in the high plains of Castelluccio di Norcia.  Grown at this altitude, in the shadow of the mountains, these lentils are very special.  They are thin-skinned, but when cooked still maintain their shape and texture.  Lentils are an important part of diets in many places around the world. I have eaten lentils in other countries and found them to be somewhat mushy and not to my liking; these however, are quite different.  It wasn't until I lived in Italy that I began to appreciate lentils at all.  Lentils from this area are so specialized as to have received “IGP” certification.  This stands for Indicazione Geografica Protetta which stands for “Protected Geographic Indication” and is your guarantee they come from Castelluccio di Norcia.



This recipe is for pork sausages with lentils, a very basic, very homey, very comfort food kind of meal…..one of my favorites!

Here’s your list of ingredients: (Serves 4)
Olive oil
One garlic clove, smashed
Pork sausages
Onions, diced
Carrots, diced
Lentils (I used 200 grams which made enough for four people)
2 cups of water, plus a little more as necessary
Fresh sage, chopped (or dried)

This is a stove top recipe and the beauty of it is that it’s a one-dish meal.  You just need one large skillet to get started.

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Heat your pan, give it a good drizzle of olive oil and toss in your smashed garlic clove.  Rub the clove around in the oil a bit, and add the sausages.
As the sausages are browning on one side, dice your onions and carrots.
Turn the sausages over after the first side is brown.

Move the sausages to the side of the pan and add the onions and carrots.  (I would have used diced celery as well if I’d had any on hand.)  Saute the onions and carrots for a bit before adding in the lentils.  Mix the onions, carrots and lentils well, making sure they all get nicely coated with the olive oil and sausage fat that’s in the pan.  Then gently pour in two cups of water.

Bring the whole mixture to a boil, and reduce the heat to keep it simmering.  The lentils will need about 30 minutes to cook.  Check in on them once in a while, adding a little more water if necessary and turning the sausages over now and then.  After about half an hour, taste the lentils to see if they are done, and if they need some salt and pepper.  I added some chopped fresh sage at the end.  Be sure not to add too much extra water at any given time.  The lentils should be absorbing the water; this is not a soup.

And there you have it; salsicce con lenticchie.  There really is something special about Italian sausages; I simply can’t get enough of them, and if you can’t find lentils from Norcia at your local store, drop me a line.  Let’s go shopping together in Norcia!  Travel with me and Bella Giornata Tours and you will never go hungry….I promise.
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