The fine art of convivial dining with the sisters behind the Mallorcan creative residency, Casa Balandra
We have some good news: the next issue of The Modern House Magazine is launching in September. And while we’re always thrilled to announce a new edition, we’re particularly excited about this one as we’ve got something rather major to reveal… But until then, why not get lost in the pages of Issue No.4? If you’re yet to pick up a copy, let us give you a taster with a spirit-lifting story for summer days on Casa Balandra, the exquisite artist residency in Mallorca.
Claudia and Isabella del Olmo, the sisters behind Casa Balandra have always been convinced that food comes first. That’s why the artists who come to stay with them are fed by a shifting roster of chefs creating culinary delights from the fat of the local land. Served as convivial and communal “family meals” in the whitewashed house, they’re conceived to nourish mind, body and spirit.
The events of the past two years have had us craving nostalgia more than ever – a return to simpler, more wholesome times. And so to Mallorca, where sisters Claudia and Isabella del Olmo have transformed their former family home on the island into an experiential guest house and multidisciplinary creative residency. Inspired by a series of intimate supper clubs first hosted at their London flat, Casa Balandra is a community-driven enclave, where visitors come together to “share, create and celebrate conviviality”.
The whitewashed walls of the thoughtfully decorated villa are furnished with works created by those that have found refuge within them – previous residents include sculptor and painter Anousha Payne, illustrator Klas Ernflo and ceramicist Ana Kerin. A series of chefs-in-residence provide the culinary backdrop.
As it did in Claudia and Isabella’s childhood, the ritual of entertaining, indulging and sharing forms the cornerstone of Casa Balandra. The whole place is imbued with the spirit of Spanish sobremesa, a word that translates as “over the table”, but in reality implies something closer to the idea of lingering long after the plates are empty. Here, Claudia reflects on what it means to her, as well as how she and Isabella have gone about creating their community, while breathing new life into Mallorca’s food scene. Plus, she shares her recipe for a classic tortilla de patatas.
Claudia: “I’ve always loved cooking. Growing up, I used to watch either the home-decoration channel or the home-cooking channel. I recently dug up my little cookbook from when I was very young. The handwriting and spelling are terrible, but I wrote lovely simple recipes in it.
“My earliest culinary memories are of watching my mother get ready for her dinner parties. She would prepare the menu on Monday, making sure she got all the best ingredients, before beginning to cook early on Friday morning. She would spend the whole day preparing – she was a great chef and she really enjoyed it. In the dining room, she’d take out the most beautiful glasses and create amazing table settings. The music was always perfect too.
“She loved to try new recipes. My parents lived in Paris before they moved to Mallorca and she loved to make French cuisine, which was always more luxurious and indulgent. My dad, meanwhile, wasn’t a big cook, but he would always make crêpes for us on Saturday mornings.
“The thing I remember most about my mother’s cooking are meals she’d make for us to take to school.They were so simple – even just pasta with pesto – but my friends would fight over whatever I didn’t finish.
“Later, when I was living in London, pasta – and how to get it exactly right – became my fixation for a long time. I would come home from partying at 4am and go to sleep watching pasta-making videos. I was just obsessed.
“My grandmother is from Japan and, until 2016, we had never been before. On that first trip, we visited a place in the mountains where we were cooked a traditional Japanese 10-course meal. Everything was beautifully presented and completely meticulous.
“The food in Japan is an art form – everything is prepared with such finesse. I’ve realised it’s not the way I cook at all, but I have so much admiration for that attention to detail.
“My sister planned that entire holiday around what we were going to eat. It made me realise how much you can learn about a culture through food. Ever since then, I’ve planned trips around our tummies.
“As amazing as London is, there is still a sense of being rushed all the time. It’s in such contrast to my childhood. Growing up with my parents, we would go to restaurants in the mountains with family friends and would stay there for hours after lunch. Sometimes, it would even turn into dinner. We wanted to capture that fundamental feeling with our London supper clubs. They were really intimate, hosted in the tiny Shoreditch flat my sister and I lived in. We would invite one person, who would invite another person and so on.
“We really loved hosting people and celebrating the idea of sobremesa, that Mediterranean notion of dinner going on for ever. It was about trying to give guests that experience of slow food, of indulging in the time after a meal.
“Even now, in our artist residencies in Mallorca, food is at the centre of everything. Once a week we hold a “family meal”, where everyone comes together around the dining table and the artists talk about their day and their work.That’s the essence of Casa Balandra. We also host “indulgence weekends”, entirely based around the idea of luxuriating in food. A chef comes to stay with us for a week and we take them to nearby restaurants and farms, so they can explore our local cuisine. They then create a special menu for the people staying at Casa Balandra.
“We’re so fortunate that in late January and February in Mallorca, it looks like spring, as the spectacular flowers of the almendros (almond trees) begin to burst into bloom. Our chef has started foraging for plants that she can incorporate into her food: dandelion leaves, wild fennel, sour grass. It’s made us realise how much the land around us has to offer.
“Close to Casa Balandra, in Santa Maria del Camí, there’s an incredible Sunday market to which all the local farmers bring their produce. But we’re also incredibly lucky that even the island’s supermarket chain, Agromart, sells local fruit and vegetables. That we have access to the yield of the land makes you feel so connected to it.
“Mallorca is changing so much. In the past, young islanders wouldn’t stay; most moved away for work. And now, people are moving here from all parts of the world. There are growing permaculture and agricultural movements here and a lot of young people are learning how to farm organically. We’re doing it at Casa Balandra too – two friends of mine are working on the garden. We’ve just finished seeding our first vegetable patch.
“The plan is to eventually open another place, so we can function as a hotel and have a restaurant with a continuous chef residency, lasting between three to six months. This island’s food scene needs a burst of new energy. Residencies are such an exciting way of doing that.
“The most wonderful thing about Casa Balandra is the community it has created. Creative practices can often be lonely, so the artists who come here take so much from the fact they are there with five other artists. They can all communicate and inspire each other in their different practices.
“This current residency has been especially collaborative with the chef; one of the artists is creating a dinner centred on ceramics and cooking. You take so much from it when you’re with other people and that’s the intent of Casa Balandra – it’s completely community-focused.
Claudia’s recipe for tortilla de patatas
Makes eight slices
5 large potatoes
5 white onions
5-6 medium eggs
1.5l olive oil
Salt
Peel and clean the potatoes. Cut them in half and slice them to about the thickness of a pound coin. Cut the onions in half and julienne them (again, to about the thickness of a pound coin).
In a large pan, warm the olive oil on a medium heat. The aim here is to almost boil the ingredients in oil. When the oil is hot, add a slice of onion; if it starts frying, reduce the heat. Add the remaining onions and allow them to caramelise. Once golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon and put into a colander over a bowl to allow for any excess oil to drip out.
Add the potatoes to the oil and cook until soft.The important thing here is to get them browning – this is where the flavour lies. When you remove them, there should be a mixture between soft slices and crispy brown ones. Remove them with a slotted spoon and put in the colander with the onions. Allow them to drain and cool for around 10 minutes.
In the meantime, whisk five eggs with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and onions and mix them all together. Don’t be afraid of breaking up some of the potatoes – it should look like a mushy batter. If it’s too dry, add an extra egg. One of the most important steps is to allow this to sit for about 20 minutes, so that the potato absorbs the egg. The reason for this is so that when you cut into the finished tortilla the egg isn’t runny, but the inside is both moist and firm.
In a medium-sized pan, add a little oil, followed by the egg, potato and onion mixture. Don’t be afraid of filling the pan, as this creates a thicker, juicier tortilla. Cook on medium-high heat for about two minutes. Place a plate on top of the pan and, using oven mitts to push it down, flip the tortilla onto the plate. Slide the flipped tortilla from the plate back into the pan and finish cooking for a further two minutes. The timings can vary depending on the thickness of the tortilla: the thinner it is, the less you have to cook it. Be wary of overcooking it. A good Spanish tortilla should be golden brown on the outside and perfectly gooey within
