Savor Outdoor Dining With Mark Bittman’s Baja-Style Fish Tacos

His menu for two includes a light green salad with plums, fontina and almonds — plus salted chocolate peanut butter bonbons

Mark Bittman,

AARP

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Published July 17, 2025

A photo collage, divided horizontally into four equal parts, shows Mark Bittman, his baja-style fish tacos, salad with plums and salted chocolate peanut butter bonbons.

Head outside to enjoy this menu for two by Mark Bittman. (From left) Baja-Style Fish Tacos With Grilled Slaw and Chipotle Mayo, Green Salad With Plums, Fontina and Almonds, and Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons.

Courtesy Mark Bittman; Christina Holmes; Zach DeSart; Jim Henkens

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Baja-Style Fish Tacos With Grilled Slaw and Chipotle Mayo (also grilled) | Green Salad With Plums, Fontina and Almonds | Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons

Eating outdoors seems to make food taste better, especially when that food is grilled, by the way. I love my grill. Sometimes, when I can stomach the cold, I’ll even use it in the winter, because there’s really no better way to cook. Nothing else gives you that built-in flavor.

Obviously, right now, being too cold isn’t an issue — but being too hot and sticky is. We have a screened-in porch that looks out over the farm that my partner, Kathleen, is president of, and where we live, and we’ve turned it into the ideal dining situation.

Most nights these days, once it gets dark, the fireflies put on a show for us, and we’ve spent countless nights — just the two of us, or joined by my girls and/or Kathleen’s daughter and everyone’s partners and kids, just drinking wine and happily watching the little bugs light up.

But yes, sometimes it’s just too hot to eat outside, even on the screened porch, and a nice refreshing dinner in the comfort of the AC is necessary. So for this Menu for Two, I’ve chosen recipes that are just as great inside and out: Baja-style fish tacos with grilled slaw and chipotle mayo; a light green salad with plums, fontina and almonds will stave off any dinner heaviness; and salted chocolate peanut butter bonbons that are the perfect savory-sweet treat.

I like to think of this meal as “channeling” the outdoors, so even if you can’t bear to be outside, the flavors here will evoke the sun and fresh air (and fireflies) — that’s just the kind of energy ingredients like slaw and plums and salty chocolate evoke, at least in my opinion.

One final note, about the bonbons: You won’t believe how easy they are to make. If you have a few extra minutes, before freezing, roll them in finely chopped peanuts or unsweetened shredded coconut (the finest stuff you can find). You can thank me later.

Baja-Style Fish Tacos With Grilled Slaw and Chipotle Mayo

A photo shows Mark Bittman’s baja-style grilled fish tacos

Mark Bittman’s Baja-Style Fish Tacos With Grilled Slaw and Chipotle Mayo is great on the grill.

Christina Holmes

Makes 2 servings

Time: 40 to 45 minutes

Traditionally, the fish for Baja-style tacos is batter-fried, but cooking the fillets on the grill makes more sense. It’s much quicker and a lot less messy. And grilling the cabbage before turning it into slaw adds another layer of smokiness. To retain heat for cooking the fish, keep the lid of the grill down while you put together the slaw and chipotle mayonnaise.

Ingredients

1 quarter-wedge of 1 medium head green cabbage, cored
Good-quality olive oil for brushing
Salt and pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime, plus more as needed
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 or 2 teaspoons canned chipotle chile, mashed with some of its adobo, or to taste
12 ounces skinless sturdy white fish fillets, like cod or halibut
4 6-inch corn tortillas (or 8 if you like to double ’em up)
Lime wedges for serving

Directions

Start the coals or heat a gas grill for hot direct cooking. Make sure the grates are clean.

Brush the wedge of cabbage on all sides with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt. Put on the grill directly over the fire. Close the lid and cook, turning once or twice, until grill marks develop, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board until cool enough to handle, then cut across into thin ribbons. Put in a serving bowl along with the cilantro and lime juice and sprinkle with pepper. Toss to combine; taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lime juice if you like.

Put the mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of the mashed chipotle in a small serving bowl and whisk until combined; taste and add more chile or a little salt if you like.

Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.

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Put the fillets on the grill directly over the fire, at an angle or perpendicular to the grate. Close the lid and cook until the bottoms brown and release easily, 3 to 7 minutes. Carefully turn the fillets, using a second spatula to keep them from breaking apart. Close the lid and cook until a skewer or thin knife inserted at the thickest point of a fillet easily pierces it all the way through, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the fish and the thickness. Transfer the fillets to a platter.

Heat the tortillas on the grill directly over the fire, then wrap in foil or a clean kitchen towel to keep warm. Break the fish into large pieces and serve, passing the tortillas, slaw, chipotle mayo and lime wedges at the table for building the tacos. — Excerpted from How to Grill Everything

Green Salad With Plums, Fontina and Almonds

Green Salad with Plums, Fontina and Almonds is light and versatile.

Zach DeSart

Makes 2 servings

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

The cheese course, in a bowl: lighter, less fussy, and more versatile. If you use roasted almonds, skip Step 2.

Ingredients

About 8 ounces plums (3 or 4)
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 ounces fontina cheese
½ cup raw almonds
3 cups lightly packed mixed greens (like mesclun) torn into bite-sized pieces
About ¼ cup vinaigrette (made with olive oil and sherry vinegar)

Directions

Cut the plums into ½-inch chunks, removing the pits as you work; toss with the lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Chop the cheese into small bits; cover and refrigerate until needed. Put the nuts in a dry skillet, turn the heat to medium and toast them, shaking the pan frequently until they are aromatic and beginning to darken in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

When you’re ready to serve, toss together the fruit, cheese and greens with as much of the dressing as you like. Chop the nuts coarsely, sprinkle them over all, and serve. — Excerpted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Vinaigrette

Makes 3/4 cup

Time: 5 minutes

Try this experiment: Put vegetable oil and water together in a blender and turn it on. The mixture will turn white and creamy; add salt, pepper and a few other flavorings; you now have something you can sell for $5 for 8 ounces, as long as you’re a multinational food company. I emphasize this because I’m trying to convince you to make your own rather than buy bottled dressing. It will be superior to any dressing you’ve ever bought.

Ingredients

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or more to taste
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped shallot (optional)

Directions

Put the oil, vinegar and a pinch each salt and pepper in a blender and turn the machine on; a creamy emulsion will form within 30 seconds. Taste and add more vinegar a teaspoon or 2 at a time until the balance tastes right to you.

Add the shallot if you’re using it, and turn the machine on and off a few times until the shallot is minced within the dressing. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve. This is best made fresh but will keep, refrigerated, for a few days. (Bring it back to room temperature and whisk briefly before using.) — Excerpted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons are decadent and easy to make.

Jim Henkens

Makes 9 balls

Time: 30 minutes

Imagine what would happen if you rolled a peanut butter cup into a ball — one that you don’t care much about being perfectly round.

Ingredients

1½ teaspoons butter
1 ounce dark chocolate
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup powdered sugar, plus more as needed
Salt (the flaky kind is best here)

Directions

Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mixture on high heat for 30 seconds, then check and stir; repeat once or maybe twice more until the butter and chocolate melt without burning.

Add ¼ cup peanut butter and stir until it’s evenly incorporated. Add ¼ cup powdered sugar and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Put a piece of wax or parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Use 2 teaspoons to drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt.

Put the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze just until the balls firm up a bit, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve right away or store in an airtight container for up to a couple days in the refrigerator or several weeks in the freezer. — Excerpted from How to Cook Everything Fast

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For more than three decades, Mark Bittman has been leading voice in global food culture and policy, in addition to his work at The New York Times, where he created The Minimalist, was the Sunday magazine’s lead food writer, and became the country’s first weekly opinion writer at a major publication to concentrate on food. He’s the author of dozens of books, including Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food from Sustainable to Suicidal and the How to Cook Everything series. He’s editor in chief of The Bittman Project, a membership-based platform that includes a newsletter, website and the podcast Food With Mark Bittman.

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