Crockpot Tomatillo and Black Bean Soup with Fresh Lime

This soup started as a random endeavor simply because I had a bunch of fresh tomatillos from the farm, and needed something to do with them, and it was so delicious that it has become one of our favorites.

(Makes about 6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

8 tomatillos, chopped in 1/4 inch pieces (about 2 cups chopped tomatillo)

1 jalapeno (fresh or pickled; chopped)

1 T finely minced garlic

1 T dried cilantro (optional)

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed well

2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice or

2 large fresh tomatoes, diced with juice

4 cups vegetable broth, canned or homemade

1 cup water

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

salt to taste

garnish with cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

Chop onions and tomatillos into pieces about 1/4 inch. Heat olive oil in large frying pan, then saute onions, tomatillos and jalapenos about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cumin and saute 1-2 minutes more. While vegetables saute, dump beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse until no more foam appears.

Put tomatillo-onion mixture into large 4-5 quart crockpot.  Add beans, tomatoes with juice, vegetaBLE stock, water, and brown rice. Cook on high for 4 hours (This could also be cooked on low for 8 hours.)

After 4 hours (or 8 hours if using low) turn the crockpot to low setting, and let it cook 15 minutes to lower the temperature, then add the fresh lime juice and cook 10 minutes on low. Serve hot, with chopped cilantro for garnish if desired.