Ñora Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Ñora (Capsicum annuum): I encountered this chili pepper for the first time, or rather, tried it (I had heard of it), last year at a surreal event in a small town in Calabria: representatives of the Mexican state of Michoacan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cuisine, met with representatives of the region in a cultural-culinary exchange at the highest levels. In addition to ancestral Mexican chefs, especially Juanita Bravo, and of course Italian chefs, some huge international names were invited, including chef Enrique Olvera, among the top ten in the world, and many others. I met a chef with whom I became friends. When invited on stage, she prepared a basic soffritto for rice. The aroma was exceptional and the flavor smoky and intense, the very slight spiciness enhancing everything. I was ecstatic.
The plant grows to 80 cm tall, is not very productive nor precocious, and tolerates hot climates very well. We have grown it with limited irrigation on mostly sandy soil with excellent results.
The Ñora must be dried: before using, it must be rehydrated and the pulp scraped off. Stop irrigation a few days before harvest to ensure the berries are more flavorful and suitable for drying. This year, I've dried over fifty varieties of peppers and chili peppers from all over the world, from the highly prized Mexican ones to the rarer Peruvian ones, including our beloved Crusco, Favignana, and Diavolicchio. Well, the taste, the intense aroma of the Ñora, the hints of chocolate and smoke, and the very light spiciness place it among the best in the world.