A summer of rice in La Bocca

The rice dishes from La Illa de Riu in the Ebro Delta take center stage at La Boca during the summer months. Today, they were presented by the producer, Joan Trías, along with the restaurant's kitchen team.

The Mouth starts The summer of rice: three months of ephemeral proposals built around the varieties bomb, Carnaroli and Illa de Riu bay, the centuries-old estate in the Ebro Delta that shares the same river with Zaragoza.

Three rice dishes, one per variety, each month, These are in addition to the four rice dishes that La Bocca usually has on its menu. and which it always offers on its daily menu, as this establishment of the Tándem Group has been doing for years rice is its hallmarkA culinary concept built on the conviction that this grain, when prepared well, says everything about a cuisine. Today, the restaurant's menu includes: rice from Iberian pork and boletus mushrooms, rice of the young master, rice of beef rib confit at 65° and rice with lobster.

In addition to the usual menu, during June you can taste three rice dishes with all the flavor of the sea, the land and Aragon; cuttlefish and prawns in garlic sauce on carnaroli, boletus mushrooms with truffle and egg on a bombe and shank of Ternasco de Aragón with confit artichokes on bay.

From June 11th until the end of August, La Bocca —the Mediterranean restaurant of Grupo Tándem— offers The summer of rice: a series of gastronomic events in which Each month a new proposal arrives, ephemeral and with an expiration date. It's not a letter. It's a journey. A tour of the most Mediterranean grain: its origin, its varieties, and how it's cooked in Zaragoza with local and international ingredients.

A rice dish with its own story

In 1917, José del Romero, a Barcelona-born lieutenant commander, acquired a vast estate in the Ebro Delta that had once belonged to the Marquisate of Tamarit. The salinity of the soil allowed for no other crop than rice. What began as a necessity became a legacy.

More than one hundred years later, Joan Trías del Romero manages Illa de Riu as third generation from the same family. Under his leadership, the company controls the entire production process: from the from certified seed selection to cultivation, processing and marketing. No intermediaries. No mixtures. Each variety, pure.

The rice fields of Illa de Riu are located in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, included in the Terres de l'Ebre Biosphere Reserve. Their Bomba rice is the only European rice distinguished with two stars by the International Taste & Quality Institute in Brussels.

Three rices, three characters

The choice of varieties is not accidental. Each rice from Illa de Riu has a distinct personality, and Cristian Comsa and Jorge Calonge Summer proposals have been built around that difference.

Bomb. The king. Short, round grain that doubles in length when cooked without becoming mushy. It absorbs flavors without losing its structure. It's the rice that best tolerates the perfect cooking time, the one that doesn't forgive mistakes but also doesn't forget the benefits of good broth.

Carnaroli. The Italian variety that Illa de Riu has made its own in the Delta. Large, firm grains with a high starch content. Originally made for risotto, at La Bocca it finds its sweetest and most Mediterranean expression.

Bay. Native to the Ebro Delta itself. Coarse and pearly grain, with the highest liquid absorption capacity of the three. Versatile, generous, the variety that best embraces the flavors of the region.

June: the first chapter

June's offerings at La Bocca are three rice dishes that tell a story of product, season, and territory:

Creamy rice with cuttlefish and garlic prawns (carnaroli) — €17.50 / pax. The sea in its purest form. Carnaroli as a canvas for an iodine base and a texture that melts on the palate.

Rice with porcini mushrooms, truffle and egg (bomba) — €18.50 / pax. The earth in all its depth. The bomba absorbs a seasonal porcini broth and is finished with truffle and perfectly cooked egg.

Rice with Aragonese lamb shank and rosemary with candied artichokes (bay) — €18.95 / pax. Aragon on a plate. The lamb, with its own Protected Geographical Indication, makes this bay rice the most local of the three: the Ebro Delta and Zaragoza united by the same river.

New proposals will arrive in July and August. Ephemeral. With an expiration date. That's how The Summer of Rice works: when one chapter ends, another begins.

The cooks of the trip

The rice dishes that Joan Trías brings from the Ebro Delta arrive at La Bocca's table thanks to Cristian Comsa, the restaurant's chef, and Jorge Calonge, executive chef of Grupo Tándem. Together, they have created a menu that doesn't imitate the Mediterranean: it reinterprets it from Zaragoza, using local produce and the expertise of those who know what they're doing.

The fact that this rice reaches the kitchens of Zaragoza has a name: Catering Subirón. Founded in 1999 as a family-run food distribution company, Subirón is the link that makes it possible for top-quality products to find their place in Aragonese restaurants. Their product knowledge and direct relationship with producers like Illa de Riu guarantee that the rice cooked at La Bocca is the same that Joan Trías cultivates and selects in the Ebro Delta.

La Bocca is the Mediterranean restaurant of Grupo Tándem, located on Madre Vedruna Street in Zaragoza. Specializing in rice dishes and seafood, it is part of a group with six establishments in the city—La Bocca, Marengo, Nativo, Nómada, Morrofino, and La Tradicional—all sharing the philosophy of cooking from scratch, without shortcuts. Their motto: We love to cook.

About Illa de Riu

A family-run agricultural company founded in 1917 in the Ebro Delta. Managed by the third generation of the Trías del Romero family, it controls the entire rice production process: from certified seed selection and cultivation to processing and marketing. Its rice paddies are located within the Ebro Delta Natural Park, a Biosphere Reserve. It produces the Bomba, Bahía, Carnaroli, Marisma, and Akita Komachi varieties, all of which are pure and unblended (100%). Its Bomba rice was awarded two stars by the International Taste & Quality Institute in Brussels.