Shifting Pasta Shapes Into A New Dimension

With "Cacio e Pepe" being the height of food fashion lately, meaning cheese and pepper, we thought we could offer this super easy variation on a simple cheese and pasta dish.
 
Ingredients:
500g of fusilli caserecci pasta (thinner and more tightly “twisted” than regular fusilli), alternatively use spiral pasta or spaghetti
A dozen asparagus
1 tablespoon of butter
A small mountain of grated parmesan (about 200g)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
 
Method:
Bring a pot of water to the boil.
 
Take a dozen asparagus stalks, holding at the base and halfway along, and bend till the asparagus snap. Discard the thicker part and keep the tips. Cut the asparagus into 2-3cm pieces.
 
Put fusilli caserecci pasta in the pot, followed by the asparagus, and boil for 9 minutes. When both the asparagus and pasta are cooked, remove and strain. 
 
Return to the pot and add butter, a small mountain of grated parmesan, a dash of salt and liberal amounts of pepper, and serve hot with a side salad and a delicious glass of Sacred Hill wine! We suggest the Sacred Hill Reserve Savignon Blanc.          
 
Handy Tip:
If you want to ‘NZ’ it up a bit and add that classic summer flavor, you can barbeque up the asparagus with peppercorns to add some zing!