The Modern Menu: chef David Gingell cooks ricotta ravioli with sage butter at Jolene in Newington Green
At their first two restaurants, Primeur and Westerns Laundry, chef David Gingell and restauranteur Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim elevated the culinary offering of the N5 postcode with sincere, honest cooking made with superlative ingredients, and served with low-intervention wines in stripped-back yet intimate spaces.
Their much-loved formula takes its third iteration at Jolene in Newington Green, this time incorporating a bakery that puts out bread and pastries using grains milled on-site and sourced from small-batch English farmers.
This edition of ‘The Modern Menu’ series takes us into the kitchen at Jolene to ask David about his formative culinary experiences, how he approaches home cooking and to get his recipe for ricotta ravioli with sage butter. Tuck in.
David, what did you eat growing up?
“I grew up in Falmouth, Cornwall, and at the time, in the 1980s, the cheapest food to buy would have been sardines, mackerel and broken crab claws. That was what I remember eating from a really young age.
“That sort of thing stuck with me, actually. My mum would go to the fishmongers and buy shark steaks and stuff like that, which I think is where my love for odds and ends came from. I’m not as interested in the higher end; I’d rather eat the wobbly bits and the cheap oily fish than the posh stuff.
“I guess I grew up in a foodie household, but I didn’t really know it. We didn’t have a huge amount of money, but my mum was quite inventive. At the end of the month, we might have had baked beans and sweetcorn crumble, which was a favourite of mine growing up.”
When and where did you learn how to cook like you do now?
“I had been working as a chef in some pretty serious places in London. I was pretty tired from it all and so I took some time off and went home to Cornwall. In all honesty, I learnt more about cooking in that time than my stints in those restaurants because I started cooking for myself and my family. I started enjoying doing it, rather than it being a mechanical process.
“I really enjoy fishing so I would come back and make some grilled mackerel with a nice salad. Or sometimes I would make a good tray of lasagne with some garlic bread, and in the winter things like coq au vin, beef bourguignon and dumpling stew. Just good food. They’re all classics for a reason – who doesn’t like dumplings on a cold day?”
How did that translate over to opening the restaurants?
“We opened Primeur and Westerns Laundry with that simplicity in mind, and I think Jolene represents our approach in perhaps its most straight-up form. There’s very little messing around – just things like pasta, salads, quiche, and bread made using our own grains.
“The important thing to understand is that simple doesn’t mean easy; there’s nowhere to hide with simple cooking. It either tastes good or it doesn’t, and that comes through in how we shop: we buy the best vegetables, meat, fish and grains we can. For us, that’s where the real work happens, and we see a cook’s job as treating the food we buy with as much respect as we can and changing it as little as possible.
“There’s a real crossover, then, in terms of the food I make at home and what we do here. I used to make a spelt dish for my first-born as something nutritious for her to eat. And then just thought, let’s do it on the menu because it’s delicious. Of course, we add more parmesan and seasoning for the one in the restaurant but, essentially, it’s the same thing.
“I think our best dishes here come from our home kitchens. They’re great incubators for ideas because there’s no pressure and you really understand what something tastes like when you sit down and eat a plate of it. And the thing about having kids is that they’re brutally honest (although not always right!).”
So, having a family changes how you approached home cooking?
“I guess before I wouldn’t have been interested in growing tomatoes or courgettes in my garden. I was amazed last summer because, with the sunny weather, we had three tomato plants that produced enough tomatoes for our family of four from early summer until autumn. I probably wouldn’t have the same respect for the food if I hadn’t had done that.
“I suppose the way a lot of people cook for their family is in two sittings: one for the kids and one for the adults. I don’t do that – I just cook with a little less salt at home, but that’s ok because we all eat together. I find my children behave well because they can see the effort that goes into it.
“I have a five-year-old and she loves making fresh pasta – not rolling it out but shaping it and having some fun. When she does that, she’s going to enjoy eating it because she’s helped to make it.
“That’s not to say she doesn’t love to eat a packet of Monster Munch now and again, because she does; and rightly so! Monster Munch are great, there are no two ways about it.
“But we always cook, and I think the secret is to always to cook from scratch – no matter what it is, cook it from scratch. It’s difficult because a lot of people don’t have the time, and the supermarkets are so clever at advertising the fallacy that it’s difficult to cook when it’s not. Buy a tin of butter beans and make a stew with some vegetables.”
What’s your home kitchen like?
“We used to live in London Bridge but moved to Walthamstow when we had kids to get more space and a garden. My home kitchen is the one part of our house that we spent any money on at all. It’s really nice! We have two ovens, a huge stainless-steel sink – very important – and it’s in the best part of the house, where natural light comes in all day. It’s a pleasure to cook in.”
David’s recipe for ricotta pasta and sage butter
Pasta
210g strong white flour
135g whole eggs, beaten
70g semolina
Mix the flour and semolina together and tip onto your worktop. Create a well in the centre of the flour and semolina mix and add the beaten eggs to it. With a fork, slowly incorporate the eggs into the flour, being careful not to rush. When the dough comes together (it should feel like playdough), wrap it in cling film and rest for two hours.
Ricotta filling
500g good-quality ricotta
50g grated parmesan
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, adding nutmeg and seasoning to taste.
To finish
1 egg yolk
100g salted butter
Parmesan
Roll the pasta dough out to number one on the pasta roller and cut in half. Or if you don’t have one… good luck!
Dollop the ricotta onto the pasta with a teaspoon or piping bag (roughly egg yolk-sized) and brush the pasta very lightly with a beaten egg yolk. Lay the other side of the pasta sheet on top of the ricotta and push out any air pockets. Cut carefully in between each piece of ricotta.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and season with a good pinch of salt. In a separate pan, slowly brown the salted butter on a low heat with some sage leaves.
Blanche your pasta for two to three minutes, until tender.
When the butter has browned, add the pasta and some pasta water to it. Add some grated parmesan and some black pepper, if needed. Adjust the consistency with more pasta water to create a silky emulsion. Serve immediately with a little extra parmesan.
Tips
Roll the pasta in small batches until you get the hang of it to stop it from drying out too quickly.
When rolling your pasta only use enough flour to stop it from sticking and don’t be tempted to add too much as it will cause it to dry out.
When the pasta is rolled out dust the bench with semolina to stop it sticking.
You can make these ahead of time and keep them on a semolina-lined tray in the fridge for a couple of hours if needed.
Serve with wine to people you love.
RELATED ON THE MODERN HOUSE
Junior Adesanya, founder of natural incense brand Cremate, on the power of scent at home
Cultural Diary: make the most of galleries and museums reopening this month
A feel-good springtime playlist for changing times
Culture at home in March 2021
A lockdown playlist to lift the spirits, curated by Corey Hemingway
Cultural highlights in January 2021, from architecture exhibitions to art openings
Art and design events in December 2020, from festive crafts to exhibition openings
Cultural tips for November 2020
Cultural tips for September 2020
A recipe for a summer sorbet from a new book showcasing nature-loving chefs at home