ROASTED STRIPED BASS WITH CHIVE AND SOUR CREAM SAUCE

Roasted Striped Bass with Chive and Sour Cream Sauce image

Yield Makes 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

For sauce
2/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
For fish
6 (5-oz) pieces striped bass fillet with skin
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
2 oz onion sprouts or garlic chive sprouts (2 cups)*
Accompaniment: Spicy garlic potatoes and zucchini

Steps:

Make sauce:
Blend sour cream, water, juice, salt, and chives in a blender until mixture just turns pale green. Season with pepper.
Prepare fish:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Remove any pin bones from fish with tweezers or needle-nose pliers and pat fish dry with paper towels. Score skin in several places with a thin sharp knife to prevent fish from curling (do not cut through flesh) and season fish with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then sear fish, skin sides down, in 2 batches until skin is golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes (fish will not be fully cooked). Transfer, skin sides up, to an oiled shallow baking pan.
Roast fish, uncovered, in middle of oven until just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.
Spoon 3 tablespoons sauce onto each of 6 plates and top with potatoes and zucchini. Squeeze a lemon wedge over each fillet, then place fish, skin sides up, over vegetables. Top fish with sprouts.
*Available at farmers markets.