Will salt cod be a cooking trend in 2024?

As a new year unfolds, certain things are inevitable, like ads for weight-loss programs and diets, along with predictions about what we will eat and drink in the months ahead. Some writers say 2024 will be a soup year and soup kits will show up soon on market shelves. Tinned fish will be big, too, and much of it will be “fish” made of plants and mushrooms.

Expect pizza vending machines. Cottage cheese will vanish.

When it comes to drinking, high-end tequilas will be the alcohol of choice and cocktails will turn savory, with flavors of meat, vegetables and herbs dominating. A BLT martini, anyone?

None of these stories mention salt cod but if I were to write such a list, it just might be on top. I have seen more mentions of salt cod in the last two weeks than in the last two decades.

If you have ever wandered through the Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain, you have seen scores of salt cod hanging from racks and piled into bins, baskets and display cases. When hanging, salt cod looks like a white bat, and when there are scores of them you can feel like you are in a bat cave. For years, we could see this locally at Traverso’s Market, though the health department eventually required the cod to be refrigerated, even though the salting and drying preserved it before refrigeration. Traverso’s closed toward the end of 2011.

To find salt cod in Sonoma County, look for the small wooden boxes that hold it. I’ve seen them in both chain supermarkets and locally owned markets.

If you worry about salt — don’t, not with salt cod. Salt preserves the fish but most of it is leached out during lengthy soaking in water. Dishes with salt cod are not overly salty.

Salt Cod, Potato and Artichoke Salad

Makes 4-6 servings

Here, salt cod and potatoes are napped with a tangy lemon vinaigrette, a traditional Italian dish to which I’ve added fresh artichoke hearts and green olives. The salad is light, bright and so invigorating at this time of year.

1 pound boneless skinless salt cod, soaked 24 to 36 hours and drained

3 or 4 large artichokes, cooked until just tender

1 celery rib, cut into chunks

1 pound small new potatoes, scrubbed

Kosher salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¾ cup pitted green olives, cut in half lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 to 4 tablespoons), plus more to taste

Black pepper in a mill

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

A day or two before making the salad, put the salt cod into a container and cover it with water. Change the water a few times as it soaks. Put the soaked and drained salt cod into a large pan, cutting it as necessary to make it fit in a single layer. Add the celery, cover the fish with water, set over a high flame and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, remove from the heat and let sit for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes into a medium saucepan, cover with water, add a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and let cool until easy to handle. Cut into ⅛-inch thick crosswise slices and put into a wide shallow serving bowl.

Remove the leaves from the artichokes and set aside for another use.

Remove and discard the chokes and trim each heart. Cut the hearts crosswise into ⅛-inch thick slices and add them to the bowl with the potatoes. Season with salt, add half the olive oil and toss gently.

Remove the salt cod from the water, pat dry, use your fingers to break it into small pieces and add it to the bowl with the potatoes and artichokes hearts.

Add the olives and garlic to the bowl and toss gently. Pour the remaining olive oil over the salad and add the lemon juice. Taste and correct for both salt and acid, adding more lemon juice if it isn’t quite tangy enough.

Season generously with black pepper, scatter the parsley on top and serve within 30 minutes.

Brandade de Bacalla

Makes about 8 servings

For many years I made brandade in a food processor; it turns out a relatively smooth puree that can, when there are leftovers, be shaped into cakes or fritters and fried. Recently, I’ve begun breaking up the cod by hand. I love the texture, and the flavors are bright and engaging.

1 pound salt cod, preferably boneless and skinless, soaked in water for at least 24 hours

1 pound russet potatoes, boiled or baked and put through a ricer

6 tablespoons butter

6 garlic cloves, minced

1½ cups creme fraiche

Black pepper in a mill

Kosher salt, as needed

Crostini, bread, toast or crackers

Drain the salt cod, put it into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over a medium flame and slowly bring to a boil. When the water boils, cover the pan and remove from the heat. Let the cod sit until it flakes easily, about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on its thickness. Drain well and let cool.

Remove any skin that remains on the cod and pull out any bones; even boneless cod may have a few stragglers. Crumble into very small pieces.

Put the riced potatoes into a large bowl, add the cod and mix thoroughly.

Melt the butter in a small saute pan, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir into the potato and cod.

Put the creme fraiche into a saucepan set over medium heat and stir until it is hot. Fold the creme fraiche into the salt cod mixture.

Preheat an oven broiler.

Put the brandada into an ovenproof casserole. Set under the broiler briefly, until the top just begins to color.

Enjoy right away with crostini, bread, toast or crackers alongside.

Baccala Palermitana

Makes 4 servings

This dish, adapted from “1,000 Italian Recipes” by Michele Scicolone (Wiley, 2004) is from Palermo, Sicily, where vendors at the famous Vucciria market sell both baccala and stoccofisso that have already been soaked.

1½ pounds baccala, soaked in water for 24 to 36 hours and drained

¼ cup olive oil

1 yellow onion, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

Kosher salt

½ cup celery, cut into small dice

2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably Muir Glen brand

¼ cup chopped green olives

Black pepper in a mill

Drain the cod, cut it into 2½-inch squares, set in a saute pan, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and let rest 15 minutes.

Transfer the fish to a plate and rinse the saute pan.

Return the pan to medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Add the onions and saute five minutes. Add the garlic and saute two minutes more. Season with salt.

Add the celery and potatoes and stir in the tomatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the salt cod and spoon the sauce over it, so it is fully covered. Scatter the green olives on top and simmer until the fish is fully tender and heated through, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper, taste and correct for salt.

Enjoy hot.

Karen Martin’s Salt Cod Fritters

Makes 24 -32 fritters

When I was working on my book “More Than Meatballs” (Skyhorse Publishing), I asked Karen Martin of K&L Bistro, which closed last year, for her recipe for salt cod fritters, which I ordered whenever they were on the menu. They are so good. Enjoy them neat or with a sauce such as aioli or romesco for dipping.

1 pound salt cod

5 small baking potatoes

3 bay leaves

1 bunch thyme

10 tablespoons olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

5 or 6 garlic cloves

¾ cup heavy cream

1 cup all-purpose white flour or rice flour

2 egg whites

2 cups panko

Put the salt cod into a container, cover with water and refrigerate overnight, changing the water out a few times.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes with a fork and set on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until very tender, about one hour. Remove from the oven, let cool until easy to handle, break in half and scoop out the flesh. Discard the skins and set the flesh aside.

Drain the salt cod and put it in a saucepan. Add the bay leaves and thyme, cover with water and simmer gently until soft and flaky, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and discard the bay and thyme.

Put the salt cod into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with its metal blade.

Put the olive oil into a saucepan. Add the shallot, garlic and cream and heat gently until it just reaches a simmer. Pour the mixture into the work bowl and pulse several times, until smooth and uniform.

Transfer the salt cod paste to a mixing bowl, add the potatoes and mix well with a large fork. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or as long as overnight.

To finish the fritters, put the flour into a wide, shallow bowl. Put the egg white into a similar bowl, add 3 tablespoons of water and stir. Put the panko into a third bowl.

Cover a baking sheet with wax paper.

Pour about 3 inches of oil into a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan and set over medium heat.

Use a 1-ounce ice cream scoop to form balls. As you work, dip each ball first in flour, then in the egg wash and finally in the panko. Be sure to cloak each one completely before moving on.

When the oil reaches about 360 degrees, carefully drop in a few balls, waiting for the oil to return to temperature between additions. Cook, turning now and then, until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer each fritter to absorbent paper.

Enjoy hot.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “San Francisco Seafood.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.