Buttons and Lovage

To prepare the buttons and lovage, start with the fresh pasta: boil the spinach in salted water for about 2-3 minutes 1. Drain them 2 in a bowl with ice water to cool and maintain the vibrant color 3.

Squeeze the spinach and transfer them to a blender 4. Blend until you get a cream 5. In a bowl, pour the all-purpose flour 6.

Add the semolina 7, egg white 8, sunflower oil, and 100 grams of spinach cream 9. Mix to incorporate all the ingredients.

Transfer the mixture onto a floured surface and continue kneading 10 to form a homogeneous dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour 11. Meanwhile, focus on the filling: cut the cheese into cubes 12.

In a saucepan, heat the cream, then incorporate the cheese 13 and stir with a whisk until it melts. At this point, add the cornstarch dissolved in a little water 14, mix, and turn off the heat. Blend the cream with an immersion blender to make it smooth 15.

To remove any lumps, pass the cream through a sieve 16 and let it cool 17. Now focus on the lovage oil: pour the lovage leaves and seed oil into a pitcher 18.

Blend with the immersion blender 19 until the oil slightly warms 20, then strain through cheesecloth to remove impurities 21.

Let the oil settle while continuing with the recipe 22. Prepare the lovage broth: heat the buttermilk in a saucepan and add the butter 23, stir to melt it completely, then add 35 grams of lovage oil 34.

Stir with the whisk 25 to obtain a homogeneous emulsion 26. Set aside and take the dough: sprinkle it with semolina on both sides 27.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/32 inch 28 and sprinkle more semolina on both sides to prevent sticking 29. Even out the edges and squeeze small portions of filling onto half of the sheet, spacing them well apart 30.

To facilitate closing the buttons, moisten the sheet with water 31 before folding it 32 to avoid opening during cooking. Press the two overlapping sheets gently but firmly to make them adhere well, particularly around the filling, to seal it. Use a 1 1/2-inch diameter cutter, pressing it with the non-cutting side down (the side without the sharp edge), to remove the air around the filling, compact it in the center, and start to outline the shape. Then, using the same cutter with the sharp edge, cut the buttons following the previously formed outlines. This way, you'll get perfectly round and well-sealed buttons 33.

The pasta buttons are ready 34; with these quantities, you'll get about 40. Cook the buttons in plenty of boiling, lightly salted water 35. The cooking should be quick, just enough time for the filling to melt. Drain the buttons onto plates 36.

Season with lovage broth 37 and lovage oil 38, then garnish with fresh herbs from the garden. Your buttons and lovage are ready to be served 39!