The ñora pepper (a cultivar of Capsicum annuum) is a small, round, red chili pepper, now associated with Spain and the cuisine of Murcia and Valencia. It is typically dried and has a mild, slightly sweet flavor, often used to add color and depth to Spanish dishes such as rice, stews, and fish recipes.
The ñora is a key ingredient in traditional Spanish seasonings and sauces, most notably in the production of Pimentón de la Vera, a distinctive Spanish smoked paprika. In this process, ñora peppers are smoked over oak wood, ground into powder, and used both for culinary seasoning and as a natural coloring agent in sausages, such as chorizo, and other regional specialties.
The use of ñora peppers and their cultivation in Spain date back to the post-Columbian introduction of capsicum species from the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
