Spice
Pasilla
B tier
Pasilla (“little raisin”) is the dried form of the long chilaca chilli—dark, wrinkled, with prune, cocoa, and herb notes for moles and dark sauces. Mild to medium heat. Do not confuse with fresh pasilla naming errors in some US markets (often mislabelled poblanos). True pasilla is dried, almost black, and aromatic when toasted.
Track this ingredient
Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
DriedFlakeFreshPickledPowderRoastedSauceSmoked
Traits
DarkDried ChilacaEarthyLong DarkMild MediumMolePrunePrune Notes
History
MX
Chilaca drying produced pasilla for complex sauces.
MX
Mole and adobo traditions used pasilla with ancho and mulato.
US
Import markets sometimes confused pasilla labelling.
Chefs emphasised true dried pasilla for authentic mole flavour.