When it's smokin' hot outside, the last thing you want to eat is a plate full of heavy starches. So RusTeak Restaurant & Wine Bar in Orlando's College Park has a summertime solution — for both vegans and seafood lovers.

  • RusTeak Restaurant & Wine Bar is in College Park neighborhood
  • Chef Danny Otero prepares Scallop Ratatouille

"Scallop ratatouille," said head chef Danny Otero. "Traditionally, it's a stew. But we want to keep it summery, fresh and with a nice bite."

This colorful, veggie-packed meal has a delicious, surprising sweetness, thanks in part to the maple pepper bacon and balsamic glaze.

Chef Danny says the scallop is "one of the diamonds from the ocean." But if you prefer tofu, just swap it out and nix the bacon.

This dish is almost impossible to make if you don't have all of your ingredients measured and spread out in front of you. That's because you'll have three pans going at the same time, and scrambling to find an ingredient puts you in danger of over-searing.

As a bonus, Chef Danny drizzles black truffle oil all over the plated dish, enhancing it to an even more tantalizing level.

Let's cook!

Scallop Ratatouille

RusTeak's Scallop Ratatouille is a take on a traditional French meal with "its own touch"

Ingredients

  • Three U-8 Sea Scallops (Cleaned)
  • Canola Oil
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Chopped Maple Pepper Bacon
  • Maple Glaze
  • Balsamic Glazed Reduction
  • Medium Diced Zucchini
  • Medium Diced Yellow Squash
  • Medium Diced Red Onion
  • Medium Diced Stewed Tomatoes
  • Chopped Fresh Garlic
  • Vegetable Stock (mire poix)
  • Black Truffle Oil
  • Crispy Leeks
  • Salt and Pepper

Procedure

Starting with one pan sautéing Brussels sprouts in canola oil until golden brown, adding fresh chopped garlic, then caramelizing with light brown sugar, maple glaze and balsamic reduction and finalizing with chopped maple pepper bacon.

In a second pan, make sure pan is very hot, start with canola oil on medium high heat, lightly seasoned with salt. Pepper three Sea Scallops and pan seared until a caramelization occurrs on the face down side. Then flip and finish in a 350 degree oven for about 6 minutes then pull out. They should be some sort of a medium rare and allowed the carry over cooking to bring them to a perfect cooking temp maintaining their juicy texture.

While scallops are on the oven on a third pan sauté medium diced fresh zucchini and squash until lightly golden brown and seasoned with salt and pepper, then add chopped garlic, died red onions until translucent, deglazed the pan with vegetable stock and then add diced stewed tomato on their juice and once all the flavors are incorporated.

Placed the vegetables mix on the center of the plate topped with the Bacon Brussels Sprouts then the Pan seared scallop finalized with Black truffle oil and garnished with crispy leeks.