Pre-heat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Once warm, add 2 tablespoons of  olive oil. 

Add the breadcrumbs to the frying pan and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle in the parmesan cheese and the black pepper, stirring to toss everything together.

Stir the parmesan and bread crumbs continuously until toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Spoon the breadcrumbs onto a plate and season with salt. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

Wipe the pan used to make the breadcrumbs clean and reheat it over medium heat. Brown the Italian sausage with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, breaking the sausage into smaller pieces as it browns.

Once the sausage is browned and cooked through completely, drain it onto a paper towel lined plate, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Set aside until ready to use.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salty water according to the package instructions, minus 1 minute.

In the last 3 minutes of the pasta boiling, add the asparagus to the pot.

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.

While the pasta is boiling, saute the shallot until slightly softened, 2-3 minutes, in the same pan used to brown the sausage. Add the minced garlic and rosemary and saute until both are fragrant, about 1 minute.

Reduce the heat under the pan to low and add the heavy cream, goat cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir to melt the goat cheese into the sauce.

Add the sausage back into the pan and toss to coat in the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Pour ½ cup of the pasta water into the goat cheese sauce to thin it slightly.

Add the cooked noodles and asparagus to the pan and carefully toss to coat in the sauce. Let the pasta stay in the pan over low heat for 1 minute to allow the sauce to soak in. If the sauce looks thick, add more pasta water ¼ cup at a time.

Divide the lemon asparagus goat cheese pasta with Italian sausage into bowls and top with the parmesan breadcrumbs. Enjoy right away warm!