Sauté aromatics (in this case onion and garlic) until golden and soft. This is the base of your soup. A little cumin goes a long way in creating an aromatic broth and simmering beans gives them time to absorb those flavors. You’ll make a lot of corn cakes, so reserve a few for breakfast—they’re delicious reheated and drizzled with maple syrup. Cook, relax and enjoy!

What you’ll need: 1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp ground cumin
1 can black beans
8 oz vegetable broth
1 oz scallions
1¾ cups yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
½ oz cilantro
1 oz roasted almonds
olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg

Equipment: medium pot
large skillet

Recipe steps: 1. Sauté onion and garlic
Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium. Add garlic and all but a few tablespoons of onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Add beans
   Add cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beans with liquid, vegetable broth, and ½ cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer while you make the corn cakes.

3. Make corn cake batter
   Meanwhile, remove root ends from scallions then finely chop the rest. In a large bowl, whisk cornmeal, baking powder, chopped scallions, and 1¼ teaspoons salt until combined. In a second bowl, whisk 1 egg and 1¼ cups water until smooth. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.

4. Cook cakes
   Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium. Ladle ¼ cup batter into the heated skillet for each cake. Cook cakes until the bottoms are golden, 2–3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, 2–3 minutes. Add more oil between batches and thin batter with more water if necessary.

5. Chop cilantro and almonds
   Remove thicker cilantro stems. Reserve a few sprigs for garnish then chop the rest. Roughly chop the almonds and reserve a tablespoon. Gather chopped almonds and cilantro and continue to chop until finely chopped.

6. Finish soup
   Stir finely chopped almonds and cilantro into soup. Season to taste with salt then serve soup topped with red onion and remaining cilantro and almonds. Serve corn cakes alongside. Enjoy!