Meet Sander

An international superstar takes the stage today and shares his love for food with us. As we follow this DJ, producer, father of a lovely young lady and endless world traveler in his kitchen it’s hard to believe that this man lives such a turbulent lifestyle. An artful cooking atmosphere in his Amsterdam based home kitchen and his sincere love for creating a perfect dish, similarly to his fueled by passion musical career for over 2 decades, is very much present and genuinely heartwarming. Of course we were jumping up and down when he agreed to share one of his signature dishes on the blog (considering his constant travelling and hectic work schedule).The fact that spectacular cookbooks of world class chefs and venues (like NOMA and chef Sergio Herman) are neatly stacked in his kitchen library (yup…he has a kitchen library 🙂 ) adds up to our curiosity to discover this man’s love for food. Well guys, get ready for great food, stunning visuals and the lyrical Dishtale of this one-of-a-kind man: meet Sander Kleinenberg.
Dishtales Meet Sander Post Images (19 of 20)
While he slices a whole bunch of cucumbers, Sander describes how cooking almost has a therapeutic effect on him. His hectic lifestyle is bound to a daily schedule where he hardly has any time to slow down. Spending those rare moments in his kitchen literally helps him to find some serenity. Also, cooking brings back memories of his mom and he explains how this connection truly defines his love for cuisine. On top of that he says that “there’s nothing like coming together with family and friends to share a meal. I really love that”. While that signature Sander Kleinenberg smile never seems to depart the kitchen, the stunning, all organic products are luring at us. What’s on the menu? Sander is serving one of his signature dishes: Salmon Fillet on a bed of pickled cucumber.

Dishtales Meet Sander Post Images (9 of 20)
It’s fun to see how he arches his back and concentrates on cooking, almost as if he’s standing in front of his audience in a DJ booth, spinning records. Sander explains that being able to travel the world has given him the unique opportunity to try various (international) cuisine. This helped him to develop his pallet and cooking knowledge. Nevertheless, he firmly believes that great food really comes down to one thing: using the best and freshest (preferably organic) ingredients. We couldn’t agree more! His salmon fillet tasted exquisite (and soft like butter!). Combining it with the freshness of sour cucumbers is a great idea, as the main (tasting) focus continues to be the sensational taste of that perfectly prepared piece of fish.

An afternoon of cooking, tasting and sharing food with an (evidently) multi-talented artist ended. When I uploaded my pictures and started editing I looked back at a day that was surprisingly similar to other Dishtales People shoots that I’ve done so far. Of course it helps that this guy is incredibly grounded and welcoming, but it made me think about the purity and honesty of food . That afternoon, in Sander Kleinenberg’s kitchen, the artist left the building for a few hours and all that was left was this genuinely nice and humble guy with a sincere passion for food named Sander.

Meet Sander's Signature Salmon Fillet Dish

BUY:

  • Serving 4
  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 2 cucumbers
  • olive oil
  • For the cucumber marinate
  • 1 lemon
  • 4 limes
  • 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp of ginger root (finely chopped)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce (_Sander uses low salt Kikkoman soy sauce_)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • a pinch of salt
  • For the Salmon marinade
  • a cup of white wine
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce (_Sander uses low salt Kikkoman soy sauce_)
  • salt & pepper (to taste)

DO:

  1. Season the salmon fillet steaks with salt and pepper; set aside
  2. Slice the cucumbers into thin slices and set aside in a bowl
  3. Now grab a cup, squeeze out the lemon and lime juice. Add all other ingredients for the cucumber marinate and stir well. Depending on how sour you like the pickled cucumbers you may add some sugar to even it out. Sander loves that sour taste so no sugar was added here. Pour the mixture over the sliced cucumbers and stir well.
  4. Heat up (low heat) a small sauce pan and add all ingredients for the salmon marinade. Keep stirring for 5-6 minutes. Put the marinade broth aside to cool.
  5. Now pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F, heat up olive oil in a frying pan and fry your fillets (skin side down) for about 1-2 minutes (one side only!).
  6. Take the fillets out of the pan and marinate. Note that if you like a sweeter taste you can add a bit more honey (or even some teriyaki marinade) to the mixture.
  7. Place the fillets on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.
  8. You're ready to serve! *

Oh and FYI:

* Sander's garnishing tip: you can sprinkle some black roasted sesame seeds over the dish before serving.

https://dishtales.com/meet-sander-kleinenberg/

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