Colorado Green Chili Christmas Style — Red and Green on the Same Plate

In Colorado, green chile isn't a recipe so much as a way of life — ladled over burritos, smothering breakfast, or eaten straight from the bowl with a stack of tortillas. This is the diner-style version they ask for by name from Denver to Durango: tender cubes of pork simmered with roasted Hatch and Anaheim chiles in a broth thickened gravy-style with a little flour, so it clings to whatever you pour it over. ("Christmas" on a Colorado menu means both red and green — this is the green side of that order.) It's warming, faintly spicy, and endlessly useful; make a big pot and you'll find a hundred things to put it on.

This is a topping as much as a dish — smother a burrito, pour it over eggs or fries, or serve it in a bowl with warm flour tortillas.

Roast the chiles yourself if you can (the char is the flavor); good canned roasted Hatch works in a pinch. Add another jalapeño or a spoon of the chile seeds for more heat.