Monday Market Meals - Catfish, Beans and Peaches

Catfish, Beans and Peaches 

Today's guest post for Monday Market Meals comes to us from Austrian blogger, Simone Weinwurm who lives in the picturesque region of Payerbach, about an hour's drive from Vienna. Simone says that unlike a typical farmer's market where vegetables are brought to a central location and vendors set up booths with their produce,  the people in their mountainous community buy directly from the local farmers who have something resembling a 'yard-sale' on their farm offering meat, eggs and vegetables.  The benefit of that is you can see where your food is coming from in addition to having the pleasure of talking with the farmers while you shop. You can't get much more local than that!   Read on for Simone's post where she talks about the tradition of vegetable-growing in her family.

 "It was only last week that she gave me a whole basket full of green, yellow and purple beans."

I was born into a relatively small but incredibly happy family in a village in rural Austria. There were my grandparents, my parents, my sister and I. And then there were a number of animals. We didn’t have a farm, oh no, although my grandpa, who grew up on a farm, would have loved to have one. He just made the best of his situation and got some hens, a rooster and some rabbits.  He loved his animals even though he mainly kept them for the eggs and the meat. Yes, it often happened that one of the rabbits ended up on my plate. They always tried not to tell me but sometimes I found out and then I would go to bed hungry.

My grandparents also had a small field where they mainly grew potatoes and they had a very big vegetable garden right next to the hen house with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, kohlrabi, green beans, herbs - you name it, they had it. All these delicious veggies, along with the apples, pears and plums from the numerous trees would feed us right through the winter.  

The purple beans are showy when raw, but lose their color when cooked. 

My parents took up this tradition once my grandparents died and they have been providing me and my family with beans, tomatoes and corn ever since. It is my mum’s passion and her belief. She says that you can simply taste the difference. Her tomatoes have a deep red color, are juicy and taste just as tomatoes should taste. They don’t look perfect and some are smaller than others. But it’s the taste that stands out. Maybe I’m just imagining all this, because they are home-grown and produced by my mum. But then, isn’t this exactly how it should be, growing a bond to the food that we eat, knowing the people who produce the things we eat?

It was only last week that she gave me a whole basket full of green, yellow and purple beans. Yes, purple. They were real beauties. It’s just too sad that they completely lost this amazing color once they were cooked. But luckily I took some photos before I put them into the saucepan. ;)

I served them together with some peaches, braised catfish and a garlic sauce.

Enjoy!

All the best,

Simone

Simone in her garden. 

Simone's mother, carrying on the tradition of growing fresh vegetables. 

Simone's home in Payerbach, Austria. 

A glimpse at Simone's home town in the valley below. 

Catfish, Beans and Peaches

Braised Catfish on Green Beans

Serves 4

For the garlic sauce:

12 cloves of garlic

7 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped marjoram

1 lemon (juice)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (thick vinegar)

salt and pepper

For the green beans:

1 lb (about 500 g) green beans

3 spring onions

2 tablespoons oil

2 peaches

1 lemon (zest)

For the catfisch:

1 ¾ lb (about 800 g) catfish filets

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup (about 240 ml) fish stock (alternatively: white wine or water)

1 lemon (juice)

salt

For the garlic sauce, peel and chop the garlic. Fry in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden brown. Add 1 tablespoon marjoram and fry for about ½ minute. Remove into a bowl and mix with the remaining olive oil, marjoram, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Wash the green beans and trim the ends. Cook them in salted water until tender but crisp. Drain and rinse with some cold water immediately so they will keep the green color.

Cut the catfish filets in 4 equal portions, season with salt and sprinkle with lemon juice. Melt the butter in a frying pan and very quickly sear the fish filets on both sides. Add the fish stock and braise until well done.

In the meantime, finish the green beans. Chop the spring onions and fry them in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Peel the peaches (or leave the skin on, just as you like) and cut into thick slices. Add the beans and the lemon juice to the spring onions and allow to heat up again. Add the peaches and gently cook until the peaches are really warm and soft.

Put the beans on the plate first, then a fish filet on top and sprinkle a tablespoon of garlic sauce over everything.

Notes:

1. Try to use old, thick balsamic vinegar for the garlic sauce as it tastes so much better.
2. Serve with creamy polenta or mashed potatoes. For the creamy polenta cook 160 g (1/3 lb) polenta in 250 ml (1 cup) milk, 250 ml (1 cup) cream and 100 g (4 oz) melted butter on low until well done. Season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Add more milk if necessary.

You may find Simone on Instagram as @myblueberrybasket or visit her website at My Blueberry Basket where she carries both a German and an English blog.