Gorgonzola is a highly fragrant Italian blue cheese. You may prefer to make this dish using milder French Roquefort, English Stilton, or American Maytag blue cheese — all are delicious and work fine in this dish. The mildest is Danish blue, which is what is usually used in blue cheese salad dressing.

INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4

• ½ pound linguine, broken in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 pound cooked asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or other crumbly cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (optional)
• Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Cook linguine in a large pot of rapidly boiling, lightly salted water until it's soft but still slightly chewy; drain, retaining some of the cooking water, rinse under cold water, and toss with a few drops of olive oil. Set into a colander for later use. Put another pot of water on to boil for reheating the pasta.

2. Heat the oil for 1 minute over a medium heat; add the garlic and let it sizzle for 15 seconds, until it turns white. Add cooked asparagus.

3. Sauté for 1 minute until heated through; add cream. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, and cook until cream is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes; stir in the blue cheese. Cook, stirring, until cheese is mostly melted, but a few lumps remain, about 2 minutes.

4. Using a colander or strainer, dip the pasta into boiling water to reheat it, then add the hot pasta to the cream; toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add a splash of the pasta cooking water.

5. Serve with a sprinkling of freshly snipped chives and lemon wedges, if desired.