#ebre

In Terres de l’Ebre (the South of Catalonia), it’s traditional to eat this for Christmas dessert: deep fried borage leaves with  with honey.

De Salses a Guardamar i de Fraga a l’Alguer: les comarques de parla catalana una a una. 50/88: el Montsià (Terres de l’Ebre, Catalonia).

Montsià is the Southernmost shire of Catalonia. Its capital city is Amposta.

Like Baix Ebre, Montsià includes parts of both the Ports mountains and the Ebro Delta natural parks. Besides the mountains in the Ports natural park, almost all of Montsià is flat lands around the delta of the Ebro river. Many of these plains are lagoons and rice fields of the protected denomination of origin of the Ebro Delta (DOP Arròs del Delta de l’Ebre) while in the West they cultivate olive and carob trees and citrics.

Together with the other parts of the Terres de l’Ebre region, UNESCO declared it a Biosphere Reserve in recognition of its natural and human landscape unique in the world.

L’Ampolla (Terres de l’Ebre, Catalonia).

View of Tortosa (Terres de l’Ebre, Catalonia).

Festivity of Planting the Rice in Ebro Delta

A characteristic traditional job in the area of the delta of the Ebro river is to take care of the rice fields. For this reason, the work in the rice fields is tied to many cultural elements typical from that region, such as many recipes, some celebrations and many traditional games.

Every June, they celebrate the Festivity of Planting the Rice (Festa de la Plantada de l’Arròs), where a group of farmers shows how their ancestors used to plant the rice. They also do traditional dances and music from the area, such as jotes; traditional games, like the birles; and a popular lunch where everyone can eat typical food, including different recipes of rice and paracotes (a small cake prepared by the paracoteros during all the morning).

In September or October, with the Festivity of the Harvesting, they show again how their ancestor used the sickle to harvest the fields, and how they used to pick the grains of rice.