Penne with Asparagus and Four Cheeses
– How to Cheat

If you don’t want to cook much, asparagus is tailor-made for you - 4-6 minutes in a steamer, a generous amount of melted butter and a similarly generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese with your favourite bread and some chilled wine will give you a feast in a matter of moments. And to ring the changes some green extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice could replace the butter. But, then because the season is so short, another idea which involves very little cooking is to serve it in the following recipe with pasta and Sainsbury’s brilliant four-cheese sauce.

Serves 2

Ingredients

9 oz (250 g) asparagus
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 oz (150 g) dried penne or macaroni - Martelli pasta is the best
1 x 300 g tub Sainsbury’s fresh four cheese sauce
1 x 150 g ball of mozzarella cheese
2 rounded tablespoons half-fat crème fraîche
a grating of fresh nutmeg
3 oz (75 g) ready-grated parmesan
a little butter, for the dish
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

First, prepare the asparagus by cutting the stalks diagonally into pieces roughly the same size as the penne (or macaroni). Then take a medium-sized frying pan, heat up the oil in it and sauté the asparagus pieces for about 5 minutes, tossing them around the pan and keeping the heat fairly high so that they colour at the edges.

Next cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 6 minutes only; then drain it in a colander. Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into small cubes. Return the drained pasta to the saucepan, add the cheese sauce, half of the mozzarella, crème fraîche, nutmeg, asparagus, half of the parmesan, some salt and freshly milled black pepper and mix everything together thoroughly.

Then pour the whole lot into an 7 x 7 x 2 inches (18 x 18 x 5 cm) ovenproof gratin dish which you have lightly buttered. Scatter the remaining cubes of mozzarella over the top and sprinkle with rest of the parmesan. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until bubbling and browned. Serve straight away.

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