Italian asparagus pasta recipe from Northern Italy

1. Peel the garlic and onion and chop the onion finely. Wash the asparagus and break off the hardest part of the stalks. Chop the parsley and cut the zucchini into small cubes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet ( big enough to hold the pasta and sauce later) Add the onion and garlic and soften for 5 minutes. 
3. Add the zucchini cubes to the garlic and onion with a ladle of water and a pinch of salt, mix and then cook covered over a moderate flame for 10 minutes. 

Cook the asparagus

1. In the meantime, cook the asparagus in plenty of salted water for about 10 minutes (until al dente/ still a bit firm). When they are ready, drain them but keep the cooking water to be used to cook the pasta in.
2. Now cut the asparagus in two, keeping the spears aside. Blend the asparagus stalks with a little of the cooking water in a food processor or blender. Put the blended asparagus in a bowl.

Finish the sauce

1. Then blend the mixture of zucchini, onion and garlic. Mix the 2 sauces together in and return the sauce to the frying pan. 
2. Add the robiola, some of the Parmigiano (or other hard cheese) and most of the parsley. Mix everything on a low heat until the robiola has melted. Add salt and pepper to taste and some of the asparagus spears. 
3. You can make the sauce more creamy with a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water once the pasta has been cooked if you want to.

Cook the pasta

1. If necessary add more water to the asparagus cooking water and bring to the boil. Cook the pasta in this water until al dente according to the instructions on the packet.

Finish the dish

1. Drain the pasta and add it to the asparagus sauce. Mix the pasta and sauce together well and serve with the remaining asparagus spears, more grated cheese, black pepper and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.