Shishito

A one-bag appetizer program: shishitos picked small from July to frost and blistered in a hot pan the same evening. One plant keeps pace with most kitchens; two is a party habit.

Growing

Start seeds at 8 weeks in mid March and transplant into a 5 to 7 gallon bag after the frost date passes in mid May. Give it the sunniest corner and pick at two to three inches; steady harvest is what drives the next flush. Pods that hide long enough to turn red are still good, just no longer the point. Water on a schedule the bag cannot argue with; one baked-dry afternoon costs a flush.

Varieties

Straight shishito seed from Kitazawa or Johnny's is the standard; Mellow Star is a tidy, heavy-setting selection of the same thing.

In the kitchen

Dry pan or a slick of oil, high heat, flaky salt when the skins char and collapse. The famous one-in-ten hot pod is real, but in a cool summer here it is a gentle lottery.