A Lunch With: Sandra Barrio von Hurter

There’s an apple on the counter in Sandra Barrio von Hurter’s sunshine-yellow kitchen in Kensal Rise, north-west London. Closer inspection reveals a diminutive bitemark; a further look betrays the fact that the apple is, in fact, not an apple at all, but a painted polystyrene pretender. It’s one of a glut of phony fruit and veg the designer bought in Japan: bosky-looking mushrooms, deceptively dewy lettuces, uncannily convincing celery stalks. No wonder her toddler thought a bite might be nice. “Poor thing!” Sandra laughs. “She’s not old enough to realise they’re not real, but they’re everywhere. It’s like I’m tricking her, but actually I’m just obsessed with groceries.” They are, she says, a never-ending resource. “Culturally, they vary so much. I love going on holiday and discovering a vegetable I’ve never seen before,” she exclaims, wide-eyed. “I just love markets! Their textures and shapes and colours.”

A look at her back catalogue of designs would tell you as much. Sandra’s brand, Sandralexandra, has become synonymous with the produce-shaped charms, wrought by hand in glistening Murano glass and dangling from gold hoop earrings, that those in the know have found stocked at Harvey Nichols, Liberty and the like. As well as the baroque cultured pearls she first launched with, there are tiny zinging lemons, chillies, corn cobs and pixie-sized peas in pods. She’s moved into different motifs (shells, sea urchins) and different styles too (note the swirled Murano rings that dot her fingers), but the same playful colours, each a blaze of Spanish sunshine, unite her joyful collections.

Sandra has, most recently, moved into tabletop wares, with a range of cocktail and nibble sticks. Though ­– not least given the matching market-produce motifs ­– it’s not as much as a departure as it might seem. “When I started, I was clear I wasn’t founding a jewellery brand. It’s why I never added ‘Jewellery’ to the name,” she says. “I didn’t want to be restricted by what I made. What mattered was creating beautiful things.” She’s succeeded – the sticks are as enchanting as her jewels and, come February, they’ll come topped with hearts too. Edible in their light-catching brightness, like so many boiled sweets, they’ll be ready in time for Valentine’s Day. And the next stop? Napkin rings, though the Sandralexandra superfans may have to wait…

The idea for the sticks came about when Sandra, who was born in Barcelona, noticed that cocktail stirrers seemed to be having a bit of a moment. She wanted to explore doing something similar, but with a Catalonian twist. “I was already getting all my glass made in a small village outside Barcelona, but I wanted to do something that brought more of my Spanish culture in,” she explains. “Pintxos, which are like tapas spiked on a stick, are at the heart of eating in Barcelona.”

The Spanish-style lunch Sandra laid on for Inigo – glossy anchovies, pan con tomate, a pillowy potato tortilla and more – was as delicious to eat as her glass creations are to look at. Happily, as well as sharing a family recipe for tortilla, she also passed on some tips and tricks for the finest tapas feast. Salud!

Tips for terrific tapas

Work around your core ingredients – and think seasonally

“The idea behind pintxos is para picar, which means ‘to nibble’. The concept itself is a constant, but the ingredients can change, depending what’s available in the market at the time. The only non-negotiables are tinned olives (I love Perello), jamón and really high-quality canned fish. My favourites are anchovies (preferably L’Escala), tuna from Ortiz and tinned clams, always drizzled with a bit of Salsa Espinaler hot sauce (which is also really good sprinkled on salty crisps). I’d never let my cupboard be empty of these, but luckily they last for ages unopened, so you can stock up; my suitcase is always full of tins and vacuum-packed ham when I come back from Spain. Luckily, you can now get good-quality versions in the UK too.

“The only other vital ingredient is – of course – the pintxos skewers. Without a stick, there’s no pintxo. I suppose I would say that… But it’s true! In my view, there’s nothing better than a banderilla – a stick loaded with pickles, peppers and olives. Delicious.”

Let the food do the decorating

“I love flowers, so I’ll always have a few bunches on the table (often in old tin cans with nice labels), but what’s nice about tapas is that the food plays such a part in the table display. The sight of a jumble of beautiful plates stacked with delicious things is so welcoming.

“Tapas isn’t meant to be formal, so just go with it. One of my favourite things to do is scatter the table with tangerines. They’re in season in the winter months, when everyone can do with a bit of brightness, and they look so festive on a table. Then, when it comes to pudding, it’s right there: palette-cleansing, delicious, healthy. I’m a terrible baker, there always seems to be one person on a diet and it’s awful throwing cake away. Tangerines solve that problem.”

Relax

“As I said, tapas is informal. Who cares if someone’s late? (We’re Spanish, after all.) Bring the children! Bring your grandparents! Pass everything round the table and grab seconds if you like. The food is a reflection of that and the table should be too. Mismatched cutlery is at home on a table full of tapas, as is crockery of all shapes and sizes. I love playing with colour, scales and shapes; for me, laying the table is a chance to experiment, to put as many of the things I love in one place. It’s a great reminder that elegant doesn’t have to mean serious. Oh, and always have a beautiful tablecloth or two – even if they don’t match.”

Sandra Barrio von Hurter’s tortilla de patatas (serves 4)

“Everyone has their own recipe for tortilla – how many eggs, how many onions, how you chop your potatoes – and everyone thinks theirs is the best. Mine (which is actually my grandmother’s) is, of course, the best…

“It helps to get your hands on a tombatruita – it means ‘omelette flipper’ in Catalan – which is a terracotta plate with a foot you can hold while flipping the heavy tortilla. Make sure to flip at least three times.”

Ingredients
500ml olive oil
5 medium potatoes, cut into 3mm slices (allow 1 medium potato per egg)
1 white/brown onion, thinly sliced
5 eggs
A pinch of salt

Method
Heat up the olive oil in a pan, then fry the potatoes and onion for 10-15 minutes. They should be golden, not brown. Remove from the heat and pour off the oil, keeping it for later.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add the cooked potatoes, onions and a pinch of salt, stir and leave to set for 15-20 minutes.

Using the same pan as before, fry the egg mixture over a high heat for 1 minute, then reduce to a low heat for 3-5 minutes. Cover the pan with a tombatruita or a large plate and carefully turn the tortilla out onto the plate. Slide it back into the pan and fry for a further 3 minutes over low heat. Repeat this step three times, until the centre of the omelette springs back when poked gently. Serve hot or cold, chopped up and on a pintxo stick.

Further reading

Sandralexandra

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