Grilled Sea Bass with Chili Lime Dressing – More Than Just a Nice Piece of Bass

While this is technically a recipe for sea bass, it's really much more than that. This tasty technique represents a glimpse into my warm weather culinary habits. At least three times a week, I'll toss some kind of lean protein on the grill, and finish it doused in some sort of dressing or vinaigrette.

When you consider the wide variety of meats and seafood, and the countless combinations of herbs, peppers, vinegars, and spices, you're not just looking at a summer's worth of stellar dishes; you're looking at a lifetime's worth.

This kind of operation always suffers from over-thinking. Don't try too hard to come up with these adaptations, just let it happen. By the way, this is always a fantastic way to use up the last tablespoon of whichever bottled vinaigrette is languishing in the back of the fridge.

I always get concerned comments when I use sea bass, since there have been over-fishing issues, but this was labeled "Sustainably Produced" at one of those well-known, national markets. I didn't do any independent research to verify, but if you can't trust a giant corporate grocery chain, who can you trust?

Like I said, this will work with all kinds of things, and the more you use this style of cooking, the more you'll want to use it. The dressing took five minutes, and the fish took maybe ten. That leaves plenty of time for savoring the long days ahead, which is why I hope you try this soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 (4-oz each) sea bass filets
• vegetable oil and salt to taste
• For the dressing:
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced, mashed or grated of microplane
• zest of one lime
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp sambal or other chili paste/sauce
• 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• cilantro leaves
• roasted parnips, click here for recipe