The treatment of one pepper

It’s that time in Chicago where every farmers market vendor has shishito peppers, and you have no idea what to do with them. I have spent five years perfecting an answer. Here it is.

In short, you’re going to broil or grill them for a very short time, and then you’re going to dredge them in a slurry of a bunch of stuff, and then you’re going to make a giant mess eating them while moaning about spirit.

What you need

• Salt. You have this.
• Yellow miso. You can find this.
• Agrumato. This goes by several names, but in short it is the final pressing of an olive oil for that season, where the growers throw a bunch of lemons into the millstones to clean them, because lemons are naturally antiseptic. It is not lemon infused olive oil. The process of making olive oil separates out only oil, causing agrumato to exclusively contain oils from the pith of the lemon. It is summer in a bottle, an instant crowdpleaser, and one of the best things you’ll smell in years. You can buy some here.
• Sanshō pepper. Genetically related to Sichuan peppercorns, sanshō embraces a bright, lemony flavor. It is load-bearing in this and there is no substitute. You can buy some here, or in a green-top shaker jar at any Japanese market worth going to.