Product Description
PURPOSE
WHAT IS IT?
The pasilla chile is the dried form of the chilaca chili pepper, a long and narrow member of species Capsicum annuum. Named for its dark, wrinkled skin and pronounced pah-SEE-yah (literally “little raisin”), The chilaca, when fresh, is also known as pasilla bajio, while it starts off dark green, it ends up dark brown and typically grows from 8 to 10 inches long.
EXPERIENCE
The pasilla pepper is a mild to medium-hot, rich-flavored chile with a unique flavor profile. The flavor is dark, rich, and quite luscious. It’s often described as chocolatey, or tasting of prunes and raisins, which is why it’s an excellent pepper to pair with fruit focused recipes. In fact, it’s considered one of the most flavorful chiles of all and one that doesn’t like to share the spotlight in a recipe.
CULINARY GEOGRAPHY
For traditional mole recipes, the pasilla pepper is part of the “Holy Trinity” of chiles; the other two being the ancho pepper and the mulatto pepper. Three states in Mexico claim to be the origin of mole: Puebla, Oaxaca, and Tlaxcala, all three states produce the papilla pepper in large quantities.
TRADITIONAL USES
- Mole
- Sauces and curries
- Salsa
- Soup
IMPROVISATIONAL ‘RIFFS’
- Toast whole → steep in stock like a tea for deep chile broth
- Split and stuff with smoked cheese before roasting
- Infuse cream with toasted pasilla → sauce for chicken or mushrooms
- Blend into black bean soup for dark-fruit depth
THE BACKSTORY
In the United States, producers and grocers often incorrectly use ‘pasilla’ to describe the poblano, a different, wider variety of pepper, the dried form of which is called an ancho. Because it is not exported as often as other popular peppers, the papilla remains a relatively unknown in North American cuisine.
AKA
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