Executive Chef Manuel
Romero of Ibiza
Restaurant in New Haven,
Connecticut shares a
delicious taste of the restaurant with his recipes for a three-course
menu of Tomato
Gazpacho, Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, and Crema
Catalana. The attractive restaurant located in the heart of
downtown,
features inspired traditional Spanish cuisine with modern touches, an
excellent
wine list, and attentive service.
Born in La Coruna, Spain,
Chef Manuel Romero grew up a family
that loved cooking traditional, tasty food. When he was 14 years old, his
family moved to the United
States, and he started cooking alongside his
mother. He loved being in the kitchen, watching and learning, and began by cooking
steaks and omelets. Although he told me that every man and woman in his family
knows how to cook, he is the first professional chef in the family. He attended
New York Technical
College in Brooklyn, New York
where he studied hospitality management as well as focusing on the culinary
arts.
A chef must continue to build
upon his training learning new techniques; he honed his craft in New York working with
Chef Luis Bollo of Meigas and at the Hyatt Hotel. Further training came by
working at Meson Galicia in Connecticut, and training in Spain. In 2001, he joined Café Pika Tapas as a Sous Chef. One year
later, the restaurant changed its name to Ibiza Restaurant and expanded its
culinary focus beyond tapas. He moved up the culinary ladder, and is now the Executive
Chef where his vision is to create an atmosphere where his team will enjoy what
they are doing, learn new things, and always think about the customer.
I had dinner at Ibiza Restaurant in August 2010, and
had the opportunity to get to know charming Executive Chef Manuel Romero. He is someone who is passionate about
what he does and enjoys dreaming up new recipes for his customers' pleasure. He
changes the menu three to four times per year, as well as seasonally when new
products arrive at the market to keep things fresh and exciting for the staff
and the customers. Chef Romero also maintains a few core popular dishes on the
menu by request of the restaurant's regulars, as he knows that there is a
balance between being creative and knowing what the customers will enjoy
eating. His culinary focus is new cuisine from Spain, what he describes as strong
Spanish cuisine with touches of other parts of the world, using a traditional
base, and working around it, perhaps adding coconut milk to his scallops, or
other ingredients not normally associated with Spanish cuisine.
In addition to the regular
menu and the inspired Tasting Menu, Ibiza Restaurant has traditional culinary nights,
there is roast suckling pig on Monday, paella on Tuesday, and tapas at the bar Wednesday
and Thursday. Like many modern chefs, he enjoys creating with agar-agar (a
natural seaweed gelling agent), as well as creating inspired ice creams, and sorbets,
and is always looking for new flavors and to use products differently in his
cuisine.
When not working at the
restaurant, he enjoys thinking up new recipes, creating special holiday meals
for his wife, Andrea, his parents, and his brothers, and watching tennis,
soccer, and the Food Network, as he is always interested in learning new
techniques.
Chef Manuel Romero graciously
shares his recipes for Tomato Gazpacho, Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, and Crema
Catalana. ¡Buon apetito!
The Menu
Tomato Gazpacho
Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
Crema Catalana
Chef Manuel Romero's Tomato Gazpacho is like drinking liquid summer sunshine with its
rich, ripe melding flavors. He serves the Tomato Gazpacho at the restaurant in
attractive shot glasses as a delicious amuse bouche.
Tomato Gazpacho
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1
|
Pound (0.45 km)
|
Ripe Tomatoes, skins
removed
|
3
|
|
Scallions
|
½
|
|
Cucumber, peeled and seeded
|
1
|
Small
|
Red Bell Pepper, cored and
seeded
|
1
|
Tablespoon
|
Sliced Blanched Almonds
|
4
|
Ounces (118 ml)
|
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
|
3
|
Tablespoons
|
Sherry Vinegar
|
|
|
Salt, to taste
|
Preparation: Cut all the vegetables into chunks. Put the
tomatoes, scallions, cucumber, almonds, and red bell pepper in a blender, and
purée. Add the olive oil slowly and then add the sherry vinegar. Taste for
salt. Place the gazpacho in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour to chill
before serving.
Chef Manuel Romero's Stuffed Piquillo Peppers have a delightfully tasty filling made with Yukon gold potatoes,
carrots, asparagus, and tuna that is mixed with mayonnaise and olive oil.
Piquillo peppers are red peppers grown in Northern
Spain. Their name in Spanish translates as "little beak," as the
peppers resemble a bird's beak with their curved and pointed end.
Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
Serves 3
Ingredients:
9
|
|
Piquillo Peppers, a type of
chili grown in Northern Spain, roasted, skins removed
|
5
|
Ounces (142 grams)
|
Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced
|
2
|
Ounces (57 grams)
|
Carrots, diced
|
2
|
Ounces (57 grams)
|
Green Asparagus, diced
|
4
|
Ounces (113 grams)
|
Tuna, canned, in olive oil
|
3
|
Tablespoons
|
Mayonnaise
|
|
|
Salt and Pepper, to taste
|
2
|
Tablespoons
|
Olive Oil from the canned
Tuna
|
Method: Cut the potatoes, asparagus, and carrots into small
dices, and cook in boiling salted water until al dente. Chill the vegetables in
the refrigerator. When the vegetables are cold, mix them in a bowl with the
remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the piquillo
peppers with the tuna and vegetable mixture. Serve cold.
Chef Manuel Romero's Crema Calalana is a luscious milk based pudding flavored with lemon,
cinnamon, and vanilla bean.
Crema Catalana
Serves 4 servings
Ingredients:
1
|
|
Lemon
|
4
|
Cups (0.95 liter)
|
Milk
|
7
|
Ounces (198 grams)
|
Sugar
|
1
|
|
Cinnamon Stick
|
1
|
|
Vanilla Bean
|
7
|
Tablespoons
|
Cornstarch
|
8
|
|
Egg Yolks
|
Method: Pour 3 cups of milk into a pot. Add the cinnamon,
vanilla bean, lemon peel, and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the
temperature. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 cup of milk in a bowl. Beat the egg
yolks and fold into the milk. Strain the flavored milk through a sieve. Pour
the milk into a large pot and gently heat. Gradually add the egg yolk mixture
and stir. Continue heating the milk, stirring continuously, until it is thick
and creamy. Remove from the heat, allow mixture to cool, and then place it in
the refrigerator. When the mixture is cold, whisk the cream again. Pour into
serving bowls and garnish with berries.

Ibiza Restaurant
Ibiza Restaurant is open for Lunch Fridays from 12:00 pm until 2:30 pm, and for Dinner Monday through
Thursday from 5:00 pm
until 9:00 pm, and on
Friday and Saturday from 5:00 pm
until 10:00 pm. The
restaurant is closed on Sunday.
Read about Ibiza
Restaurant in the Restaurants section.
Ibiza Restaurant
39 High Street
New Haven, CT 06510
United States
Telephone: +1-203-865-1933
Email: www.IbizaNewHaven.com
Read other articles on the Connecticut
Wine Trail in the Destinations
and Wine Cellar sections.
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