Start by sautéing the Italian sausage in a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium high heat. Using a pair of wooden spatulas, smoosh and break up the sausages into little bits. Sauté until the sausage is thoroughly cooked and starting to brown. Expect about 5 minutes.

Add the asparagus with a pinch of salt and continue to sauté until the asparagus is cooked tender crisp. Expect about 5 minutes.

Take the pan off heat until the pasta is ready (bonus points if you timed this so the pasta is ready just a minute or two after the asparagus is cooked).

Read the suggested timing on the pasta packaging. This method should cook the pasta in about the same amount of time.

In a small stock pot, bring 2 quarts of water and 1 Tbsp kosher salt to a boil over high heat.

Add pasta and immediately stir vigorously.

Allow to return to a boil, stir vigorously again, cover pot, and turn off the heat.

After one minute, remove the cover and stir vigorously one last time. Re-cover pot.

Scoop out one cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Optimally, both the pasta and the asparagus and sausage will be hot when they are brought together. If you cooked the asparagus and sausage before the pasta, return them to the heat for the final two minutes of the pasta cooking.

Bring the pasta, asparagus, and sausage together in a pan large enough to hold them, along with the lemon zest, lemon juice and the cheese. Also add a good 8 cranks from the pepper grinder. Stir everything vigorously. The heat in things should melt the cheese, which will be incorporated with the lemon juice and the water clinging to the pasta.

Decide if you need to add a splash of the reserved pasta water. I often don’t, but it’s because I don’t let the pasta sit in the colander. I move the pasta to the final pan as quickly as possible and it’s still dripping a fair amount of pasta water. What you are looking for is just a glaze across the pasta. The best way to tell is to taste a single piece of pasta by itself. If it’s properly salted, lemony, savory, with a hint of aged cheese (i.e. if it tastes great all on its own), then you are done. If it needs a kick of salt, or seems entirely too dry, add a splash of pasta water and stir vigorously to work it in. Taste again. Repeat if necessary.

Serve hot, garnishing with a bit more grated cheese.