Black Rice • Black Beans • Pineapple • Black Radish • Corn • Bell Pepper

Salad recipe by Urban Roots youth and chef coach Bertrand Weber from Minneapolis Culinary and Wellness Services.

Download this recipe (pdf)

Bee Sting Salad by Urban Roots Youth

A sting never felt so good.

Adora, Hindhibne, David, Houa, Yee Leng, Moua, Touly, Cecilia, Chris, Rachada, Asha, Nana, Shoaua and Lashia took a bee sting (actually, a few) and channeled it into a pretty creative salad concept. Three from this team were stung last summer and thought it would be fun to turn their pain into a gain rallying their group around a recipe using that theme. Chef Coach Bertrand Weber and Youth Advisory Council member Kajia helped bring it to life. The black and yellow ingredients represent our bee buddies. The spiciness of black radishes = “the sting” and their lemon honey dressing makes the whole ensemble sing. So much so, that after test-tasting it Touly exclaimed, “I want to drink it!” A sting never felt so good.

Bee Sting Salad

With Lemon & Honey Spice Dressing

Makes 8 (generous 1-cup) servings

Salad Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole kernel corn, sliced from cob or frozen and thawed
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ¾ cup uncooked black rice
  • 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1 ½ cups chopped fresh pineapple (or canned tidbits in juice, drained)
  • 1 medium black radish, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
  • 8 cups mixed salad greens
Dressing Ingredients
  • ½ cup plain kefir
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp Asian 5-spice seasoning
  • ½ tsp coarse salt
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
Toppers
  • Jarred chili crisp
  • Blue and/or yellow corn tortilla chips
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 400˚F. Toss corn in small bowl with oil, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Spread on parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until lightly browned. Let cool.

  2. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Let cool.

  3. In a large bowl, mix black beans, pineapple, radish, and bell pepper. Add rice and corn.

  4. To make the dressing, process all the ingredients except oil in blender until smooth. With the blender running, slowly pour in vegetable oil, processing until thick and smooth. 

  5. Stir half the dressing into the salad mix; toss to coat. Arrange salad greens on plates. Spoon salad mixture on top; drizzle with remaining dressing. Spoon some chili crisp on top and garnish with chips.

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— Cecilia