chile peppers, pasilla (dried chilacas)

Pasilla ("little raisin" in Spanish) chiles are dried chilaca peppers — a variety distinct from poblano and ancho — with a narrow, dark brown-black body, mild heat (1,000–2,000 Scoville), and one of the most complex flavor profiles of any dried chile. The flavor suggests raisins, licorice, dried fruit, and earth simultaneously, with a depth that enriches any sauce or braise it enters. In mole negro, pasilla contributes the dark, almost tannic depth that grounds the brighter, fruitier chiles. Toast briefly in a dry pan before rehydrating — the heat activates volatile compounds and adds a subtle nuttiness. Confusion around chile nomenclature is rampant: in Mexico, pasilla refers exclusively to dried chilacas; in California, the term is sometimes incorrectly applied to fresh poblanos, which are completely different chiles with different flavor profiles.