Ñora

What it is¶

The ñora (nyora in Catalan) is a small, round variety of Capsicum annuum, roughly the size of a golf ball or walnut, grown in southeastern Spain and sold almost entirely dried. The dried pods are a deep brick to mahogany red, wrinkled and papery, with a hollow full of loose seeds that rattle when shaken.

It is essentially a sweet pepper. Ñoras have little or no pungency, roughly 0–1,000 SHU at most, and are used for colour, sweetness and body rather than heat. They have two lives in the kitchen: whole, soaked and scraped into sauces such as Catalan romesco and the rice dishes of the Levante coast; and ground, as the main pepper in Pimentón de Murcia, Spain's unsmoked paprika.

Origins and history¶

Peppers spread through Spain quickly after Columbus's voyages, and the hot, dry southeast, with the irrigated huertas around Murcia and the Segura river, proved ideal for growing and sun-drying them. A local tradition credits the Hieronymite monks of the monastery at La Ñora, near Murcia, with introducing the round pepper to the region and giving it its name. It is an attractive story, and the village name matches, but the details are hard to document and it is best treated as tradition.

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Murcia had become one of Spain's two great paprika regions, alongside La Vera in Extremadura. Where La Vera's damp autumns forced growers to dry peppers over oak smoke, Murcia's sun allowed them to be dried in the open, which is why Pimentón de Murcia is unsmoked. It now holds EU protected designation of origin status. Towns along the Alicante coast, notably Guardamar del Segura, are known for the strings of ñoras drying on walls and balconies in late summer.

Flavour and aroma¶

Soaked ñora flesh tastes sweet, earthy and faintly bitter, with a toasted, nutty depth and a hint of dried fruit, less raisiny than a Mexican ancho. The skin is tough and bitter, which is why it is scraped off rather than eaten. Ground, as pimentón de Murcia, it gives a sweet, bright, clean pepper flavour without the woodsmoke of pimentón de la Vera.

In the kitchen¶

Using whole ñoras¶

The standard preparation is to rehydrate and scrape:

1. Remove the stem and shake out the seeds.
2. Soak in hot water for 30 minutes to an hour, until soft.
3. Split open and scrape the soft red flesh from the skin with a teaspoon or the back of a knife. Discard the skin.

Four to six ñoras yield about a tablespoon or two of flesh. Alternatively, fry the dried pods very briefly in olive oil, which crisps them for pounding in a mortar; seconds too long and they burn and turn bitter. See rehydrating dried chillies.

Dishes¶

• Romesco: the Tarragona sauce of ñora (or the larger romesco pepper), roasted tomatoes and garlic, toasted almonds and hazelnuts, bread, olive oil and vinegar, served with grilled calçots (spring onions), fish and vegetables.
• Arroz a banda and caldero: the fishermen's rice dishes of Alicante and the Mar Menor, whose stock and sofrito take their colour and depth from fried ñoras.
• Salsa and stews: in the salmorreta of Alicante, in fish stews and in Murcian michirones (dried broad beans).
• Pimentón de Murcia: ground ñora is used in Murcian sausages, the morcilla and longaniza of the region, and anywhere unsmoked sweet paprika is wanted.

Buying and storing¶

Choose ñoras that are whole, deep red and slightly supple rather than brittle, dusty or bleached. Keep them airtight in a cool, dark cupboard for up to a year; they fade and grow bitter with age. Pimentón de Murcia, like all ground paprika, loses colour and aroma within months: buy small tins with the D.O.P. seal and use within six months to a year. See storing spices.

Substitutes¶

• The Basque choricero pepper, or its jarred flesh (carne de pimiento choricero): very close in use and flavour, slightly larger.
• Guajillo or ancho, soaked and scraped the same way: similar body, a little warmer and fruitier.
• Sweet paprika, about 1 tsp for each ñora, where only colour and sweetness matter.
• Piquillo or other roasted red peppers: sweet and fresh-tasting rather than dried, but they work in romesco at a pinch.

Pairs well with¶

Almonds, hazelnuts, tomato, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, bread, rice, fish and shellfish, spring onions, dried beans, saffron and smoked paprika.

Growing your own¶

Ñoras grow like other sweet C. annuum peppers. Sow indoors in February–March at 20–25°C, grow on in pots, and plant in a greenhouse or a hot, sunny spot after frost; in Britain a greenhouse gives the best chance of fully ripe pods. Plants reach 60–80 cm and carry many small round fruit. Leave them on the plant until deep red and beginning to soften, then thread on string through the stalks and hang in a warm, dry, airy place for several weeks until papery. Seed is sold by specialist suppliers as Ñora or Nyora. See growing chillies.

See also¶

• smoked paprika
• paprika
• piquillo pepper
• guindilla
• rehydrating dried chillies
• guajillo