Trust your instincts on recipes. If there seems to be too much or too little of an ingredient, modify it to your tastes. I added more vegetable stock and drastically reduced the amount of cumin. In the end, I wish I had added even more stock and cut back even more on the cumin. But the following is as the recipe appears in the book.

Aztec Corn Soup

1/2 ounce butter
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 rounded teaspoons ground cumin
1 rounded teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
2 1/4 pounds canned or frozen sweet corn, drained
2 pints vegetable stock
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onions and sauté gently for 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the ground cumin and ground coriander and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery, corn, stock and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Purée the soup in a blender, then stir in the lime juice and zest and reheat gently. Adjust the seasoning and serve with the chopped coriander (cilantro).

Makes 8 servings.

From “Avoca Cafe Cookbook” by Hugo Arnold with Leylie Hayes