Wild Striped Bass with Tomato Fondue

Ingredients

• 6 large garlic cloves
• unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced sage
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot
• minced
• 2 pounds assorted tomatoessmall tomatoes halved
• larger tomatoes cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Six 6-ounce wild striped bass fillets with skin
• skin scored

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Wrap the garlic in foil and bake for 30 minutes, until soft.
3. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic into a bowl.
4. Stir in the sage; season with salt and pepper.
5. In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil.
6. Add the shallot and cook over low heat until softened, 2 minutes.
7. Add the tomatoes, butter and garlic-sage paste and cook over moderate heat until the tomatoes release their liquid, 3 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. In a nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil.
10. Season the bass with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, skin side down.
11. Cook over moderately high heat until the skin is browned, 4 minutes.
12. Turn the fillets and cook until just white throughout, 2 minutes.
13. Serve the fish with the tomato fondue.