"La Verguenza del Gallego"

When I first arrived in Spain, the abundance of food at every meal was a little overwhelming.  I had to mentally prepare before any meal I had with Spaniards because I knew there would be many different dishes to try.  Well, I think my stomach has finally adjusted to the Spanish way of eating.  Don’t be too surprised when I come back to the US several pounds heavier, although since I’m in Europe I guess the correct phrasing is several kilos heavier.  The Spaniards like to eat, and they like to eat a lot.  One of the first phrases I learned when I arrived in Galicia is “La verguenza del Gallego” which translates to “the shame of the Galician.”  And of course, it relates to food.  During tapas, the last portion that remains is referred to as “la verguenza del gallego” which of course means someone has to eat it, because waste not want not.  Something tells me the Boehmers would have no problem embracing this part of the Spanish culture.

I usually commute back to A Coruña at 2pm with the other teachers who live there and then I make lunch for myself in my apartment.  Wednesday, however, the teachers had a meeting in the evening which meant I needed to stay in Laxe until 7 as well and would be having lunch here.  Because the majority of the teachers do not live in Laxe, we all went out for lunch.  We went to a restaurant tucked away in an even more remote little village about 12 km away from Laxe.  It was one of the best meals I have ever had.  First they brought us multiple plates to start with that we all shared.  There were 12 of us and they brought us three of each of these plates, so yet again an abundance of food.  The first plate they brought out was a salad which was amazingly simple, but delicious.  It was lettuce, tomato and onion but dressed perfectly with oil.  The next plate was a pasta salad that had a creamy dressing and I believe tuna.  The next plate was an omelet with prawns and mushrooms.  I actually really enjoyed it, which surprised me because I typically don’t care for prawns or mushrooms, but in this omelet it was an amazing combination.  The fourth plate, which was my favorite of the starters, is called fideua and it’s paella, but made with fideo(essentially spaghetti) instead of rice.  Keep in mind these were only the starters.  The choices for the main course were fish or beef, and I had a little bit of difficulty understanding the descriptions of the two beef options which were carne asada or carne empanada.  The teachers tried to help explain them to me, but unfortunately I couldn’t remember my Spanish cooking terminology and they couldn’t remember how to describe the food in English, so I ordered carne asada and just hoped for the best.  It turned out that carne empanada was essentially what we would call chicken fried steak, beef that had been dipped in egg, then breadcrumbs and then baked in the oven.  When the carne asada came out, one of the teachers remembered that it is the equivalent of roast beef.  However this particular dish was cooked in a pot instead of in the oven, so essentially it was a pot roast.  It was served with potatoes that tasted like butter and sautéed red peppers.  In the US I typically don’t eat much beef but this was one of the best things I have ever had.  The beef was so tender it practically fell apart when the fork touched it, and the flavor was amazing.  To think that taco bell calls whatever it is that they put inside their burritos carne asada is a sad joke.  Then for dessert, I ordered the cheesecake and it was a peach cheesecake filling in a graham cracker crust.  Somehow I managed to finish the entire cheesecake and have a café con leche as well.  I think it’s safe to say my stomach has adjusted to the Galician way.  And did I mention it only cost 9€?  Amazing.