Marche
Hand-rolled strozzapreti (literally 'priest-strangler') from the Marche, dressed with crumbled fresh pork sausage cooked in white wine and finished with aged Pecorino di Fossa — a cheese buried in pits for ripening that gives an intense, funky mineral quality. The dish is finished with a light pasta water emulsion and a generous black pepper grind.
Meaty, funky, peppery; Pecorino di Fossa gives an almost truffled mineral depth; the pasta's rough texture holds all the sauce — bold and satisfying
{"Roll strozzapreti on a rough board surface — the texture grips the sauce better than smooth pasta","Crumble sausage finely and cook until fully browned before deglazing with wine — no grey, underdone sausage","Deglaze with Verdicchio di Matelica (dry local white) and reduce by half before adding pasta water","Pecorino di Fossa added off heat — never cook it or it seizes and becomes granular","Use a 1:1 ratio of pasta water to Pecorino to form a creamy emulsion without cream"}
{"Rest freshly rolled strozzapreti on a flour-dusted tray uncovered for 30 minutes before cooking — the slight drying improves bite","If Pecorino di Fossa is unavailable, a blend of aged Pecorino Sardo and a small amount of blue cheese approximates the funkiness","Finish with toasted breadcrumbs (pangrattato) fried in olive oil for textural contrast"}
{"Adding Pecorino to a hot pan, causing it to clump and separate from the sauce","Using supermarket 'strozzapreti' which are too smooth — hand-rolled roughness is essential","Under-browning the sausage — the Maillard crust on the crumbles is the primary flavour driver"}
La Cucina delle Marche — Sapori e Tradizioni