Hatch Chile Verde with Pork — New Mexico Green Chili with Roasted Hatch Peppers

This is green chile at its most essential: roasted Hatch chiles, tomatillos, and slow-braised pork shoulder, and not much else getting in the way. Everything leans on the chiles, so it's worth roasting them properly — charring them black over a flame, steaming, and peeling — because that smoky-sweet depth is the entire flavor. The pork goes in as browned cubes and comes out two hours later falling apart into the sauce, which the roasted vegetables thicken naturally, no flour needed. It's the kind of pure, chile-forward New Mexico green that people drive across the state for, and it belongs in a warm tortilla.

Warm flour tortillas and a little sour cream are the classic New Mexico serve; it's also spectacular over eggs or smothering a burrito.

Roast your own chiles if at all possible — the flavor gap versus canned is enormous here. Pork shoulder is ideal for its fat; don't substitute a lean cut, which will dry out over the braise.