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1
Combine the flour and salt on a rough wooden board. Add the lukewarm water gradually and work the dough until it is smooth and firm. Rest it, covered, for 20 minutes. Pinch off small pieces, roll each into a thin rope roughly 8 cm long, then drag it across the rough board surface with the flat of your palm to create a twisted, textured exterior. Lay the finished strozzapreti on a flour-dusted tray and leave uncovered for 30 minutes: they are ready when the surface feels dry and slightly leathery to the touch.
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2
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-high flame. Add the crumbled sausage in a single layer and leave it undisturbed until a deep Maillard crust forms on the underside, then break and turn. Continue until every crumble is fully browned with no grey remaining — the colour here is the primary flavour driver and the dish lives or dies on this browning.
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3
Pour in the Verdicchio di Matelica and scrape the pan floor. Reduce over a medium flame until the wine is halved in volume and the sharp alcohol smell has given way to a round, mellow fragrance.
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4
Cook the strozzapreti in well-salted boiling water. Reserve 80 ml of the starchy cooking water before draining. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the sausage and toss over a low flame for one minute, adding pasta water as needed, until the liquid coats the strozzapreti in a thin, glossy film.
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5
Remove the pan entirely from the heat. Add the grated Pecorino di Fossa and the remaining pasta water in one addition and toss continuously. The emulsion is complete when the sauce is uniformly creamy and clings to every surface of the pasta without pools of liquid or visible clumps of cheese.
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6
Plate immediately. Finish with a generous grind of coarse black pepper and a scattering of pangrattato fried in olive oil. The dish is ready when the breadcrumbs retain an audible crunch against the creamy sauce.