Pasilla Mixe-(Capsicum annuum)-The Pasilla Mixe pepper comes from the Sierra Norte region of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a mountainous region that is difficult to travel too which gets a good amount of rainfall. The Mixe are an indigenous people who farm fruits, coffee and chiles in that region. They are very protective of the Pasilla Mixe chile so it rarely leaves the mountains fresh and ripe with fertile seeds. They smoke the chiles grown here for a few reasons. Climate is too wet for sun drying and flavor is enhanced by smoking. Also smoking kills the seeds rendering them not fertile. The Pasilla Mixe pepper ripens from very dark green and finally a deep red color. They are thicker skinned than the other Pasilla types so flesh is good enough to roast. They are about 4 to 7 inches long. They are delicious roasted when still green and have a smoky sweet flavor and a good Jalapeno level heat. They are used traditionally to make pepper pastes, seasoning powders, roasting and stuffing. Locals like to stuff with cheese or picadillo Oaxaqueno which is a local pork stew. These chiles are slowly vanishing as farmers are getting paid more to grow other crops. The Mixe people really cannot expand much growing in their area because of the rough terrain. We can grow these, and they will still have an amazing flavor. But like wines we will not be able to duplicate 100% the flavor of those grown in the Sierra Norte mountains. The Pasilla Mixe chile plants grow from 3 to 4 feet tall and are a good producer.
Seed from and info + photos used with permission of Jim Duffy at Refining Fire Chiles in San Diego