One of the best things we ate in Milan was a pasta dish at Rovello 18. Their Chitarra con Guanciale, Puntarelle, e Pecorino is a super simple pasta that really shines with the crispy, salty guanciale (cured pork cheek) and bitter notes of the puntarelle.

The centerpiece of this dish is guanciale, a cured pork cheek that when cooked, becomes crispy and has a rich, salty flavor that's hard to replicate. If you're thinking about recreating this dish and guanciale is out of reach, pancetta or high-quality cured bacon can work.

Puntarelle, a type of chicory, brings a delightful bitterness and crunch, encapsulating the freshness of spring. It's a bit of a niche find outside of Italy, but experimenting with similar chicories like radicchio or endive could yield exciting results, adding their own character to the dish.

The final touch, pecorino cheese, infuses the pasta with a sharp, salty brilliance, melding the flavors together in a creamy, indulgent embrace.