I guarantee this Shirzai Salad is one of the tastiest and easiest salads you will ever make as it only requires 3 ingredients! Yep, that’s right, 3 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to make!
My Shirazi Salad recipe is Persian created in the city Shiraz in Iran and was passed down from my mum, with a few little tweaks of my own. It's fresh, light and pairs well with any dish.
This salad pairs perfectly alongside some Persian rice with tahdig.
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Ingredients to Make Shirazi Salad
- Cucumbers, it's important to either use Persian or Lebanese cucumbers as they are crisper and have a nice sweet flavour
- Tomatoes, I use Roma tomatoes for their rich and tangy taste but if you can't find Roma, normal tomatoes will do fine
- Red onion is a perfect addition for its sweetness and taste. In this recipe I use less onion than normal, so adjust the quantity based on your preference
How to Make Shirazi Salad
Time needed: 10 minutes.
There are many versions of the Shirazi salad with small differences, as this salad is also very popular in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. This recipe uses cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion as the core ingredients.
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Peel strips off the cucumber skin lengthways to create a zebra stripe pattern. Chop cucumbers into small cubes
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Next chop tomatoes into similar sized cubes as the cucumber
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Then chop the onion into small cubes
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Add all ingredients to a bowl and pour over olive oil and lemon juice then season with salt. Mix all together and it's ready to be served!
Important tips Shirazi salad recipe
- It's best to dress the salad 15 minutes before serving. This allows the salad to absorb the beautiful sour flavours and still say crunchy and fresh.
- To avoid the salad becoming watery, ensure to de-seed the tomatoes. You can then add the seeds to a soup or another dish.
- I have only used ½ a red onion as I personally don’t like a very strong onion flavour, however you can increase the amount.
- Many people like to use lime juice or more traditionally sour grape juice which is what is used in Iran. I personally prefer lemon juice.
Give it all a mix and its good to go! Perfect to serve alongside so many dishes such as rice, stews, seafood and meats. I also like adding some chickpeas or even cooked lentils to make it a vegan main meal.
More Salad Recipes
- Strawberry Spring Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Chickpea Avocado Salad
- Rocket Pear and Parmesan Salad
I love seeing your creations and remakes, so be sure to tag @cookingwithayeh and share a photo on Instagram so I can share the love.
Recipe
Shirazi Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Persian or Lebanese cucumbers
- 3 roma tomatoes
- ½ red onion
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Sea salt
Instructions
- With a peeler, peel strips off the cucumber skin lengthways to create a zebra stripe pattern. Chop cucumbers into small cubes.
- Chop tomatoes into similar sized cubes as the cucumber. If possible, its also best to de-seed and not use the seeds that fall out of the tomatoes.
- Chop onion into small cubes, I prefer to chop them into smaller sized cubes than the other vegetables so the taste isn’t as strong.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and pour over the olive oil and lemon juice then season with salt. Mix all together and its ready to be served!
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