Black Bean Cakes with Corn Salsa

For the black bean cakes:

• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 10 cilantro sprigs, roughly chopped
• 4 scallions, roughly chopped
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• salt
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

For the salsa:

• 1 ear fresh corn, husk and silk removed
• 1 large tomato
• 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed and finely diced
• 1 avocado, finely diced
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 2 limes
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (stems and leaves)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt

for the crispy tortilla strips:

• 4 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt

For garnish:

• 1 lime, cut into 8 pieces

To make the black bean cakes, combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste, then add egg and pulse again to combine. Shape the mixture into 8 cakes. If you have time, place the cakes in the fridge for an hour or more to firm up.

To make the salsa, cook the corn on a grill pan over high heat until nicely charred, turning every so often to distribute the heat evenly. Let the corn cool and use a sharp knife to remove kernels. In a large bowl, combine the corn kernels with next eight ingredients and season with salt to taste.

When ready to cook the cakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauté pan, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high. Add as many black bean cakes as will fit comfortably (we fit four at a time) and cook for three minutes on each side. As the cakes cook, remove them to a baking sheet; when all cakes have been fried, bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the black bean cakes are in the oven, fry up the tortilla crisps. Wipe out the sauté pan with a paper towel, add the three tablespoons olive oil, and turn the heat to medium high. Add the sliced tortilla strips and a generous pinch of salt, and cook until crispy (about five minutes), shaking the pan frequently to make sure they cook evenly.

To serve, place two black bean cakes on each plate, top with charred corn salsa, and garnish with tortilla strips. Serve with fresh lime wedges on the side.