Cod with Celeriac, Douglas Fir and Bergamot
This elegant cod dish from Chef Bart Stratfold of Timberyard showcases a philosophy that runs through much of the restaurant’s cooking: taking a handful of exceptional ingredients and exploring them in multiple ways. Here, celeriac appears as a rich puree, a delicate grilled garnish, and the foundation of a deeply flavored sauce infused with kombu and Douglas fir.
The cod itself is treated with remarkable care, gently cooked in an aromatic oil infused with its own bones, bergamot, and fir needles to preserve its delicate texture and natural sweetness. Bright citrus notes from bergamot cut through the richness, while seaweed and fir bring subtle layers of umami and woodland character that feel distinctly Scottish.
While the recipe requires patience and a bit of advance preparation, the techniques are rooted in attention to detail rather than complexity. The result is a refined restaurant-quality dish that celebrates seasonality, craftsmanship, and the beauty of letting outstanding ingredients speak for themselves.
Cod with Celeriac, Douglas Fir and Bergamot
At Timberyard, we tend to hone in on a few ingredients and prepare them a number of ways to play with their textures. In this dish, celeriac appears as a stock, puree, and grilled garnish. The dish isn't about complicated techniques but instead being as diligent as possible with a few amazing ingredients and really taking care with them.
Ingredients
- 2-3 kg cod (best in December & January)
- 2 l first pressed camelina (or rapeseed oil)
- 3 fresh bergamot fruits
- 50 g fresh Douglas fir needles (or lemon thyme, if necessary)
- 150 g dried kombu
- 10-20 g kuzu
- 2 large celeriac
- 250 g diced butter
- 10 g dried dulse
- 200 ml champagne vinegar
Instructions
Dulse Vinegar (prepare 2 weeks ahead):
- Infuse the dried dulse into the champagne vinegar for a minimum of 2 weeks.
- Simply mix together and store in a sealed airtight container at room temperature. Strain before usage.
Celeriac Stock (prepare 8 hours ahead):
- Dice one whole celeriac – around 2-3 cm (¾–1¼ inches) size cubes – and put in a pot along with 2l water. Bring to a simmer and then seal the pot and place in an oven at 110° C/ 230°F for around 8 hours.
- After 8 hours remove from the oven.
- Strain the stock and then gently reduce by two thirds. Whilst reducing, roast the peelings at 160°C/320°F that have been retained to a heavy golden brown. It’s good to push these as far as you can before burning. We don’t want burnt skins as they will taint the end sauce, but a good deep colour.
- Once the stock is reduced, turn down the temperature to 80°C and add the roasted skins, 25g (0.8 oz) of Douglas fir needles and 100g (3.5 oz) kombu. Hold the liquid at 80°C (175°F) and infuse for 1 hour.
- After an hour strain through muslin cloth. This stock is the base for the sauce (see final section).
Grilled Celeriac
- With the other celeriac slice ½ into disks that are around the thickness of a 10 pence piece. Dry these in a low oven roughly 60-70°C/ 140–158°F until they are fully dry and have the texture of paper.
- We then rehydrate the celeriac disks in salty (3.5% salt) boiling water when we need them before dressing in rapeseed oil and grilling on a gentle fire. The edges char and the middles sweeten creating a mix of textures and flavours. These are then dressed in bergamot zest and juice along with more dulse vinegar, salt and oil.
Celeriac Puree
- With the remaining ½ of celeriac dice into 1cm dice and then start roasting in a heavy bottom pan on the stove adding diced butter as you go and deglazing the bottom of the pan with water. The intention is to roast the celeriac until it’s very dark, almost too far, but you need to manage the pan so you again don’t get an unpleasant burnt flavour.
- Once soft and fully roasted, blend well (in a magimix with a stick blender) for around five minutes. We adjust the thickness of puree with the celeriac & kombu stock making sure it is velvety and smooth. Season with bergamot zest, dulse vinegar and salt to taste.
For the Cod:
- We cook the cod in an oil infused with all the bones of the cod along with other flavourings. To do so, break the cod down, being super careful not to tear the flesh. Retain the head and bones.
- Remove gills from head and any blood from bones etc. Chop the head and bones down into manageable pieces and then submerge in the camelina or rapeseed oil along with one whole bergamot sliced up, 50g (1.7 oz) kombu and 25g (0.8 oz) Douglas fir needles. Cover with parchment and tinfoil and then cook in the oven at 160°C/ 320°F for around one hour.
- Once cooked, strain all the oil off and set aside. You can then pass all the meat and bones etc through a chinois to extract the collagen. At Timberyard, and like many other places, we use that collagen as a base for emulsions riffing on the Basque sauce called pil-pil. In this case though we only want the oil strained previously.
- The cod fillets need to be split into the top and bottom loin and then lightly salted on wire racks for 20 mins.
- Once salted, gently wipe the fillets clean and leave them in the fridge to rest overnight.
- The following day, portion the top loin in to 120g (1/4 lb) size pieces with a long sharp knife being sure to not rip at any of the skin. It’s essential that you treat this delicate fish with the utmost care as it damages easily. (Do consider there will be cod left over from this preparation. It’s so very good in a warming fish pie or folded through a curry so just place in the freezer and use it at a later date)
- It is also important to not use a fish that’s too big as they tend to hold too much water. We buy our cod in the season from a day boat which catches them by drift netting. We only use the 2-3 kg (4.4–6.6 lb) size and because of the limitations we set, we revere the product year on year when we have access to it for a limited time.
- To cook the fish, set your oven to 110° C/ 230°F and place the cod head and bone infused in oil in a deep tray or pan. Once hot add the cod to the pan in the oven and cook for 4-5 minutes depending on how big your portion is. You should be able to put a cake tester into the flesh without resistance. The tester should glide through the fish without any sensation of toughness.
- Once cooked, rest the fish in a warm place for 4-5 mins with a little salt and more of that delicious dulse vinegar.
To Finish:
- Heat your celeriac puree and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
- To make the celeriac sauce, bring the celeriac stock back to a simmer, season well with salt and the dulse vinegar and then thicken with the kuzu mixed with water. Use the kuzu like you would corn starch slurry slowly adding bit by bit making sure the liquid is boiling. You can set the sauce and refrigerate after as the kuzu doesn’t denature so it can just be heated up when needed.
- Place the celeriac puree in the bottom of a bowl, ready to serve. Take the now rested cod, peel back the skin, and douse the fillets in the resting juices and then sit on the puree. Rasp some bergamot zest over the cod.
- Place the lovingly grilled celeriac disks that have been well dressed over the cod and then finish with the steaming hot, well-seasoned celeriac sauce infused with the fir, kombu & bergamot previously.
- Another rasp of zest to finish and you are good to serve.
Notes
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