Salsa Verde Soup

I'm really trying to use my home-canned goods in new and exciting ways.  I love the tomatillo salsa on pretty much any Mexican-themed food.  So I wondered what would happen if I used it in place of tomatoes and onions in a soup, and went online to find out if that was a thing.

Um, ok, it's basically pozole, which I've never had and only heard of recently.  I'm not into hominy, so I used a can of cream-style corn that never made it into another recipe.  The recipe below calls for whole corn kernels, but this is a Pantry Challenge and that's what I had.  Everything else was pretty much what I was planning.  Mainly, these other recipes gave me the courage to make what I had in mind originally and know it would still be edible.

The only way I could use up the quart box of broth that I was determined to find a recipe for was to make more than four main-course servings.  It also used up two jars of salsa instead of one, so that's not entirely a bad thing.  I'm posting a scaled down recipe here, which would be four servings with an accompaniment or three as a main course.  I ended up with one extra lunch-sized serving out of my big pot.

*2/3 C dry pinto beans, or 1 15 oz can cooked
*3 C chicken or vegetable broth
*1 to 1-1/2 C salsa verde (tomatillo salsa), depending how vinegar-y you want the soup
1 C hominy or frozen corn kernels
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro and sour cream or yogurt for garnish

1.  If starting with dry pintos, sort and rinse.  I don't usually take the "sort" part seriously, but I found a stone the size of a pea this time.  It happens.  Soak for 6-8 hours.  Drain, refill saucepan with water to cover by 1", and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  For canned, drain and rinse.

2.  This is where it gets really easy.  Add broth, salsa, corn, and beans to a large soup pot over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer.  Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.  For a spicy soup, add red pepper flakes and/or cayenne.

3.  Ladle into bowls.  Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π