Ingredients

• 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

Instructions

1. Blend sour cream, water, juice, salt, and chives in a blender until mixture just turns pale green. Season with pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Roast fish, uncovered, in middle of oven until just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.
6. 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.
7. *Available at farmers markets.