Salad Shirazi is THE salad in Persian cuisine. It’s light and citrusy, complimenting Persian stews, rice, and kababs as the most commonly served side dish. You won’t find any lettuce in this fresh salad. Salad Shirazi is made simply with 3 main ingredients; cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. The dressing is a tangy blend of lemon juice, dried mint, and salt.
Salad in Farsi is salad, the same – no translation needed ;). Shiraz is a city I have never been to in Iran. Shirazi means something originating in the city of Shiraz. I hear it is a beautiful place, filled with flowers in the springtime. It is, as the name suggests, where this salad comes from, as well as a famous Persian writer, Hafiz, known for his majestic love poems. Visiting Shiraz one day is on my bucket list. I’d love to see where our favorite salad and the influential Persian author, Hafiz I’ve heard so much about was born and inspired. Until then I’ll keep enjoying Salad Shirazi and Hafez poems.
The health benefits of Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad are fairly obvious – this is a fresh vegetable salad with no added oils. Keep the thin skin of Persian cucumbers intact for a boost of vitamins and fiber.
Cucumber Guide for Salad Shirazi:
My first preference for this salad is to use small Persian cucumbers for the following reasons:
- the skin of Persian cucumbers is thin and may be left on (added health benefits of leaving the peel intact – more vitamins, nutrients, and fiber!)
- seeds are very small, almost non-existent
- less watery than other varieties of cucumbers which lends well for this salad
- very crunchy with a mild and slightly sweet flavor
If you love cucumbers you’ll also love our Persian Cucumber Dip!
Some markets carry cocktail cucumbers. Cocktail cucumbers are an even smaller variety of cucumbers with virtually no seeds. If you can find cocktail cucumbers, they are also a great, seedless, crunchy variety. If making a large batch of Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad, use English cucumbers. English cucumbers have thin skin, and small seeds, and are easy to chop.
Any variety of tomato and onion may be used for this salad. A firm tomato is best. I prefer to use Roma tomatoes as they tend to be firm and hold their shape when chopped. If you can handle the fine chopping skills required, sweet, in-season cherry tomatoes are delicious in this salad as well. Although regular yellow onions are fine, red onions offer a visual color appeal and are often used for Salad Shirazi.
This is such a simple salad that is easy to whip up without a recipe. If you are freewheeling it, I suggest the following ratios: use the heaviest portion of chopped cucumber, next a medium amount of tomatoes, and lastly, use a light hand with the chopped onion (too much onion can quickly overtake the flavors of this salad).
Serve Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad as part of your appetizer offerings along with Persian Cucumber Yogurt dip.
For light lunch far, enjoy this salad with Baked Persian Kotlet!
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