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Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten has the perfect vegetable side dish that hasn’t been done to death — a delicious spin on a basic salad, called winter slaw. The ingredient list is short but so healthy and easy to make ahead and add the vinaigrette before serving.

Hoda Kotb, Ina Garten, and Jenna Bush Hager on Today show in 2019
Hoda Kotb, Ina Garten, and Jenna Bush Hager | Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Barefoot Contessa’s winter slaw recipe is perfect for the holidays

During a 2014 segment for the Today show, Garten and Tamron Hall cooked a holiday meal together, using recipes from the Barefoot Contessa’s Make It Ahead cookbook.

One of the items on the menu was a winter slaw salad, made with a variety of fresh vegetables, cranberries, parmesan cheese, and tossed with a vinaigrette.

On the Today show website, Garten shared some tips for this delicious salad. “Kale is so popular now that happily, it’s available in grocery stores everywhere. Most markets carry both curly and flat varieties, but for this recipe I prefer the curly kind,” she explained.

“Winter slaw is like coleslaw but with kale, brussels sprouts, and radicchio instead of cabbage. I like it with a lemon vinaigrette and big shavings of parmesan cheese,” she added.

Garten also explained how the side dish can be made ahead, without the dressing. “Prepare the salad ingredients, store in plastic bags, and refrigerate for a day or two,” she noted. “Make the vinaigrette and refrigerate for up to one day. Toss together a few hours before serving.”

Ina Garten’s winter slaw recipe

For the Barefoot Contessa winter slaw recipe, Garten slices the vegetables thin, similar to the way coleslaw is cut, places everything in a bowl, and dresses it with a simple vinaigrette. In the Today show segment she explained, “Because kale is so tough, what I want to do is julienne it really thinly. If you run it back and forth very lightly, you see the blade [of the knife] really does its work.”

When the vegetables are shredded, she pours the dressing over them in a bowl, then adds the cheese and cranberries.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound large kale leaves, center rib removed (6 to 8 leaves)
  • 6 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, and cored
  • 1/2 small head radicchio, cored
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (6-ounce) chunk parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then pour enough over the salad to moisten it.

Add shaved parmesan cheese and dried cranberries, tossing gently. More vinaigrette, salt and pepper can be added if necessary.

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Garten’s Cape Cod chopped salad is a variation of the slaw

If you’re not a fan of kale or Brussels sprouts, Garten’s Cape Cod chopped salad is a nice alternative. She tosses chopped arugula with a diced granny smith apple, chopped walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese. The vinaigrette is made with apple cider vinegar, orange juice, orange zest, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.

Like Garten’s winter slaw recipe, the chopped salad is tossed with the vinaigrette, but this recipe includes chopped bacon to top the salad.

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