Green asparagus with spaghetti and Gorgonzola

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 500g spaghetti
• salt water
• 1 kg asparagus, green, young
• 300 ml water
• 250 g cream cheese
• 250 g cooked ham, if desired
• 500 ml cream or low-calorie cream substitute
• 250 g Gorgonzola, spicy
• 250 g Parmesan, if desired
• some salt and pepper
• some garlic, freshly squeezed, if desired
• 1 butter, lightly salted, for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Cut a generous amount of green asparagus and peel the bottom ends if desired. Cut the asparagus spears into equal-sized pieces (approx. 1.5 cm). Boil the trimmings or asparagus ends, still with the skin, in approx. 300 ml of water until soft. Reserve the liquid. Mix the cream and cream cheese and heat gently. Now cook the pasta in salted water until not quite al dente, so that it can absorb more sauce later. While the pasta is cooking, fry the asparagus pieces in lightly salted butter. Not too hot, so that the asparagus doesn’t brown. It should be done at the same time as the pasta. Meanwhile, increase the heat to the cream and cream cheese sauce a little, but do not let it boil. Once the pasta and asparagus are ready (don’t let the asparagus get too soft), add the Gorgonzola to the sauce. If using pre-packaged asparagus, make sure to trim off the edges. If you like garlic, you can add it to the sauce just before serving. The same applies to the grated Parmesan cheese. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can top it with the leftover asparagus stock. Place the spaghetti in a large bowl, top with the asparagus, and then the sauce. Sprinkle with a little pepper, and you’re done. A nice white wine goes well with it. If you don’t want to do without meat entirely, cut the cooked ham into thin strips and add it to the sauce for about 2 minutes at the end.