Ñora (Nora) Pepper
What it is
A small, round, dark-red dried Spanish pepper from Murcia/Alicante — sweet and mild, used for the pulp scraped from its rehydrated flesh rather than for heat.
How it's made
Round ripe peppers are sun-dried whole; soaked and scraped to yield a sweet red pulp, or ground into powder (a base for some pimentón).
Flavor profile
Sweet, mild, and slightly smoky with a deep dried-red-pepper richness and essentially no heat — a flavor-and-color pepper.
Culinary uses
Essential to romesco sauce, sofrito for paella and arroz a banda, fish stews, and all i pebre. Pairs with almond, tomato, garlic, olive oil, and seafood.
Regional variations
Murcia and the Valencian coast; closely related in role to the choricero of the Basque north.
Cultural & historical context
A quiet pillar of Spanish coastal cooking — the sweet dried pepper behind romesco and countless rice-dish sofritos.
Reference notes
Tags: `dried`, `mild`, `Spanish`, `Murcian`, `C. annuum`, `sweet`, `sofrito`. Related: choricero, ancho (analog), sweet paprika. Substitute choricero, or rehydrated ancho (sweeter, milder use). Sourcing: Spanish importers; sold dried in nets. Link → Romesco, Paella, Choricero Pepper.