What Is Shirazi Salad
Shirazi salad or salad-e Shirazi is a traditional cucumber and tomato Persian salad that comes from Shiraz, a city in the Southwest of Iran.
It has a similar flavor profile to Greek Salad, but it’s naturally vegan without the addition of feta or any other cheese. The dressing is so simple and couldn’t be any easier to make! It uses extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice seasoned with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper.
Traditionally sour grape juice (ab-ghooreh) is used in the dressing, but it’s a hard-to-find ingredient, I substitute it with lemon or lime juice.
When it comes to herbs, Shirazi salad is best known for using dried and crushed mint leaves. Dried mint has a unique flavor, and often used in Middle Eastern cooking.
Fresh mint leaves are delicious in Fattoush Salad, which is a lettuce salad with fried pita croutons and lots of crunchy vegetables.
- 1 large English cucumber or 5 small Persian cucumbers, diced.
- 3 large tomatoes or 1 punnet grape tomatoes, diced.
- red onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp .
- ½ lemon, juice
- In a large bowl, combine cucumber, tomatoes and onion. Add parsley and mint and mix to incorporate.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss to coat.