Bucatini al Cinghiale con Pecorino di Pienza

A wild boar meets Tuscan elegance — and they dance on your plate.

This dish is a love letter to the hills of Tuscany: wild boar sausage diced into perfect little cubes, onions chopped so fine they practically melt, and Pecorino di Pienza crumbled like ancient stone under the sun. Bucatini brings the chew, the sauce brings the soul.

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Prep: 5 minutes - Cook: 25 minutes 

What You Need (Serves 4)

From our kitchen to yours:

• Bucatini Afeltra – 400g
• Wild boar cinghiale sausage – 200g - casings removed and diced into cubes
• Pecorino di Pienza – 100g crumbled 

From your pantry:

• Vine ripened tomatoes – 200g - chopped
• 2 Cloves garlic – kept whole but peeled
• 1 Medium onion - finely chopped
• 100ml Dry red wine (plus a sip for the chef, naturalmente)
• Fresh sage
• Chilli
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt for the pasta water
• Basil to garnish

Equipment:

• Wide based pan 
• Large saucepan
• Slotted spoon

Instructions

 Prep like a maestro

Dice the wild boar sausage into 0.5cm cubes — uniform neat and ready to sizzle. On a chopping board, chop the onion very finely, dice the tomatoes and crumble the Pecorino ready for later.

Sizzle the cinghiale

 
Sweat the sausage in a wide pan over medium heat. Let them brown, stirring with a wooden spoon for 5–6 minutes of pure Tuscan aroma.

Sauté the onions

With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the chopped onion for a few minutes until golden with the chilli (make it as hot as you like). Add the garlic cloves (we will remove them before serving) and sage, followed by the tomatoes. Turning up the heat to kick-start the tomatoes cooking.

Wine it up

Add the red wine and let the alcohol evaporate and the ingredients soften, 3–4 minutes. The kitchen should smell like a trattoria in Pienza…. add back in the sausage and let the ingredients simmer and sing for a further 2–3 minutes, scraping around the sides of the pan. That’s where the magic hides.

Pasta time

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the bucatini and cook until al dente, following package instructions— tender but with a bite.

Marry the sauce

Reserving a cup of starchy pasta water, drain the pasta and toss it into the pan with the Wild Boar sauce and remove the garlic cloves.

 Say cheese

Turn off the heat and add the crumbled Pecorino. Toss, or stir, gently, adding more starchy water as needed until the consistency is creamy and clingy - no sticky drama here, you’re aiming for smooth and luscious.

Serve with style

Crack some black pepper and serve immediately with a few basil leaves. Extra Pecorino on the side? Sempre.

Buon appetito

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