- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
- 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
- Blend sour cream, water, juice, salt, and chives in a blender until mixture just turns pale green. Season with pepper.
- 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.