Born and raised in Newport Beach, CA. Nick has been cooking for 16 years and has run some of the busiest most successful restaurants in New York City. He started cooking by watching family dinners being prepared when he was young. Nick started out at a very high level, working at Aubergine when he was 20 and AQUA, in San Francisco, just 2 years later. He then moved to New York, where he took over as Executive Sous Chef at the famed Waverly Inn. He went on to work at Gilt in the Palace Hotel and later for the insatiably popular LURE in the SOHO district.

Roasted Dry Aged Pekin Duck Breast, Spiced Apple Butter, Tangerine Marmalade, Charred Baby Tango Lettuce by Chef Nicholas Cataldo of Cata Restaurant

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Ingredients (Yields 4 portions)
1 ea. Fossil Farms Whole Pekin Duck
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 ea. tangerines
2 ea. Granny Smith apples
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1 ea. baby tango lettuce
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1 ea. blood orange
2 tbsp. olive oil

Duck
Dry off the duck and remove remaining innards. Remove the breasts and set aside. Use the rest of the duck for confit and stock.

Spiced Apple Butter
Peel and slice thin 1 Granny Smith apple. Heat a small sauce pot with extra virgin olive oil until oil is hot. Add in the sliced apple along with the salt, and stir continuously for 1 minute. When the apples turn translucent, add the cinnamon and black pepper. Continue to cook on high heat, stirring continuously. You don’t want any moisture to accumulate on the bottom of the pot. After 5 minutes (approximately), the apple mixture will be ready. Puree the mix, while hot, until completely smooth. Set aside and keep warm.

Tangerine Marmalade
Zest and juice all of the tangerines. Place into a small pot and over low heat. Cook until reduced by half. Puree the mixture until smooth and chill.

Tango Lettuce
Remove very bottom of the head of lettuce along with any wilted leaves. Soak in cold water to remove the fine sand, approximately 30 minutes.

For Assembly
Season the duck so that a fine, snow like layer of salt covers the skin and flesh. DO NOT SCORE THE SKIN!!! Place Duck Breasts skin side down in an iron pan on medium heat. Cook the Duck for about 10 minutes, draining the fat as it accumulates, then flip and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from pan and let rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. While resting, add the lettuce to the same pan as the duck over high heat. Season with salt and let char on one side. Do not flip. Once lettuce is sufficiently charred, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Make sure to leave the charred side up. On a warm plate, place 1 tablespoon of the marmalade on one side of the plate and drag across to the other side. Add 1 dollop of the apple butter in the middle. Place the lettuce on the right side. Slice one Duck breast down the center, lengthwise. Garnish with sea salt, and place on the left. Cut blood orange in segments and garnish with a small diced apple.