modern
Mancuso, one of only 66 certified
master chefs in the country, and a
graduate of The Culinary Institute
of America, Hyde Park, N. Y., has
been refining his paella recipes since
his early years as a chef. “I enjoy
the flavor profiles and versatility of
cooking paella,” he says. “There are
probably as many different paella
recipes as there are cooks in Spain, so
you can see why it’s a fun dish.”
The challenge is cooking all the
ingredients perfectly leading up to
and including the socarat. Selecting
the proper rice is also imperative.
Mancuso recommends only using
Spanish Bomba or Calasparra, short-
grain rice produced in Spain, which
grows a third slower than other rice
because of the cold water that passes
through the paddies.
The process of modernizing a dish
such as seafood and rabbit paella
takes focus and analysis. First,
Mancuso reviewed all components
to determine the best way to alter the
dish while preserving its integrity.
Next, he looked for alterations
to make to the proteins, such as
preparing rabbit loins wrapped in
Spanish ham instead of rabbit legs.
Lastly, he focused on enhancing
flavors, which he did by adding
chorizo foam, sofrito and piquillo
pepper purée. When it comes to
presentation, Mancuso’s message is,
“Form follows function.”
Students should take paella recipes
slowly. “For my modern dish, you
still have to traditionally cook the
rice in a paella pan, so understanding
this aspect is important. You also
must know how to properly butcher
a rabbit. Once you master these
things, then you can experiment.”
And when it comes to experimenting,
paella possibilities are endless. “If
you start with a great sofrito,
chorizo and stock, you can add any
combination of meat and seafood
as long as you can cook them in
the time it takes the rice to absorb
the liquid,” Mancuso says.
modern-style rabbit paella
Yield: 6 portions
Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes on top; roll up. Tie with butcher’s
twine. Roll tightly in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
piquillo pepper purée
ingredients:
1 T. sliced shallot
1 oz. red bell pepper syrup
(reduced red bell pepper juice)
7 oz. piquillo peppers, drained,
minutes. Strain through cheesecloth.
Reserve 2 oz. for langoustine; reserve
rest for paella rice.
sofrito
ingredients:
3 dried nora peppers, stemmed,
seeded, chopped
3 oz. spanish extra virgin olive oil
1½ red bell peppers, diced
1 oz. smashed garlic clove
6 oz. fresh tomato purée, processed
in food mill
2 T. salt
sous vide artichokes
ingredients:
2 artichoke hearts, trimmed
1 T. minced serrano ham
1 T. sliced shallot
¼ T. minced garlic clove
4 black peppercorns
2 oz. chicken stock
1 T. lemon juice
1 oz. white wine
Pinch of salt
Emulsify with butter; finish with
chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
note: Be sure to trim langoustine
tails so langoustine can be
presented upright. Reserve hot for
plating.
method: Combine shallot, pepper
syrup, peppers, salt and cayenne
pepper in Vita-Prep blender; purée.
Slowly stream in olive oil until mixture
is thick enough to stand on its own.
Refrigerate overnight.
chorizo foam
ingredients:
3 oz. dry-cured chorizo
sausage, diced
¼ T. minced garlic
½ T. minced onion
1 T. olive oil
1 cup milk
2 T. cream
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T. soy lecithin
rabbit loin wrapped in
serrano ham
ingredients:
1 rabbit flank with loins attached
salt and pepper, to taste
4 thin slices serrano ham
1 oz. olive oil
method: Over medium heat, toast
nora peppers in olive oil. Add red
bell pepper and garlic; cook briefly.
Add tomato purée and salt; simmer
5 minutes. Remove ½ cup for paella
stock. Purée remaining mixture.
Reserve 1 oz. for paella.
method: Combine artichoke
hearts, Serrano ham, shallot,
garlic, peppercorns, chicken stock,
lemon juice, white wine and salt
in vacuum bag; cook at 180°F for
1 hour. Remove artichokes from
bag; quarter. Reserve.
method: Sweat chorizo, garlic and
onion in olive oil; add milk, cream,
salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes;
strain mixture through chinois. Blend
in soy lecithin. Reserve for service.
method: Remove loins from saddle,
leaving one flank attached. Clean
and trim flank to size of loin; season.
Lay both loins in flank; roll into tight
cylinder. Lay 20-inch piece of plastic
wrap on slightly damp work surface.
Lay four slices Serrano ham slightly
overlapping. Set rolled rabbit loin
paella stock
ingredients:
3 lbs. white fish bones
½ lb. roasted shrimp or
langoustine shells
2 qts. water
½ cup prepared sofrito
salt, to taste
warm langoustine
ingredients:
18 langoustine tails, peeled
1 oz. spanish olive oil
2 oz. paella stock
1 oz. butter
½ cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
method: Cook fish bones, shrimp or
langoustine shells, water and salt for
1 hour. Add reserved sofrito; cook 30
method: Sauté langoustine in
olive oil. Deglaze with paella stock.
paella rice
ingredients:
1 oz. spanish olive oil
3 oz. rabbit leg meat, minced
2 T. brunoise red bell pepper
2 T. brunoise yellow bell pepper
2 T. brunoise green bell pepper
2 T. brunoise yellow onion
3 oz. dry-cured spanish
chorizo, brunoise
