1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Lay the asparagus in a single layer on a large pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with the table salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper. Toss it all around to coat.
3. Roast uncovered for 5 minutes, until asparagus is the greenest of greens and just yields to the tines of a fork. You might be tempted to let it stay in there for another minute or two. I advise against it. If the asparagus softens too much it will not be as bright or as crisp.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and let the asparagus come to room temperature on the pan. This will allow them to continue to cook just a tiny bit more.
5. Leave them at room temperature for up to an hour or cover and transfer to the fridge for up to 4 hours.
6. Transfer the asparagus to a serving plate making sure that their tips all point in the same direction (this is just because they look prettiest this way). Use a potato peeler to shave 20-30 big stripes of Parmesan onto the asparagus. Tuck some of the Parmesan down under the asparagus so that it is evenly distributed and not all piled up on top.
7. Drizzle everything with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp. of coarse black pepper and with the sea salt. Take the platter to your guests and immediately serve some asparagus and cheese onto your own plate and then pick up a piece or two with your fingers so that they know it’s ok to eat it with their fingers.

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