Pink of Perfection

Before this spring, I had never even heard of ramps, and then suddenly they were everywhere. “The ramps are here!” food bloggers announced, and I didn’t even know I ought to have been anxiously awaiting their arrival through most of the winter months. Furthermore, I had never heard of guanciale before last week, and it was only because I stumbled into one of those luscious food shops that makes you want to scoot right into the kitchen that I came, er, face to face with the stuff.

Guanciale is an unsmoked Italian bacon made from pork cheek. It is traditionally used in Italian dishes such as carbonara, but because it can be hard to obtain (due to all sorts of pesky governmental rules about meat products from the head of an animal), pancetta is often used as a stand-in. Raw guanciale has an earthy, mushroomy scent. Ramps, or wild leeks as they are sometimes called, are early spring onions, and their stinky bark is worse than their bite. They resemble scallions but with a more bulbous white end, and both their white and green parts are edible.

The charming and knowledgeable purveyors of said food shop stood behind a counter that held guanciale within and ramps on top. It was serendipity! I was quickly convinced I needed both, and together: the mild, slightly oniony ramps and the hot, salty morsels of cooked guanciale.

For a first date, I’d say it went quite well and made a really decadent breakfast served with steaming cups of coffee and toasted country bread.

Scrambled Eggs with Ramps and Guanciale
Serves 2

4 eggs, beaten
1 bunch ramps
2 slices guanciale, diced

In a hot skillet, cook the diced guanciale until the fat is rendered and you are left with little salty morsels of goodness. Remove to paper towels. Drain the fat from the skillet and wipe with paper towels. Place skillet over medium-low heat and add the sliced ramps. Saute until wilted. Add eggs and cooked guanciale and scramble the way you do.