It’s lovely with Mediterranean spreads and dips on a mezze platter, stuffed vegetables, or grilled foods. You’ll love how easy, refreshing, and delicious this recipe is. The main veggies in this refreshing Persian salad are cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. However, while this dish looks similar to a Tabbouleh salad or a simple cucumber tomato salad, its taste is unique thanks to dried mint. The original Shirazi salad recipe calls for Verjuice in the dressing. Verjuice (ab-ghooreh in Persian) is a sour grape juice from crab apples, unripe grapes, or other fruit. However, since Verjuice is uncommon in Western supermarkets, we replace it with fresh lime juice or lemon juice.Our favorite way to enjoy this dish is with other Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean recipes, such as hummus, eggplant dip, pita bread, grilled eggplant, falafel, and Moroccan carrot salad.
Cucumbers
Traditionally, small Persian cucumbers are used for Shirazi salad. Persian cucumbers are smaller than American or English cucumbers, have a thinner peel, and have fewer or no seeds. If you can’t find Persian cucumbers, replace them with an American garden or a large English cucumber. If your cucumbers have many seeds, you might want to discard some by cutting them off with a paring knife.
Tomatoes
We like to use beefsteak tomatoes, vine tomatoes, or heirloom tomatoes. If you can’t find these, you can use Roma tomatoes or other varieties, as long as they are ripe but not overripe and soft. Please ensure you use tomatoes at room temperature, as they taste much better than cold tomatoes.
Onion
White onion is best. Substitute shallot, scallions, red onion, or spring onions for white onion.
Dried Mint
Dried mint is essential in a traditional Shirazi salad. The best substitute for dried mint is dried oregano, za’atar, or finely chopped fresh mint, although that changes the salad’s flavor quite a bit.
Lime or Lemon juice
We use lime or lemon juice instead of Verjuice (ab-ghooreh in Persian). Verjuice is a sour grape juice obtained from crab apples, unripe grapes, or other fruit and is difficult to find in Western supermarkets.
Olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil is not always used in the original recipe; however, we like to add some to balance the citrus acidity and the freshness of the cucumber and tomatoes. Extra-virgin olive oil is best because it has a fruitier and richer flavor than most oils.
Salt and Pepper
Use sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for the best flavor.
Popular add-ins
You can add fresh herbs and vegetables such as fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, olives, and diced green bell peppers. While these ingredients are not present in the original Shirazi salad recipe, they are a good flavor match, so feel free to add them in if you like. Chop the cucumbers and the tomatoes into small 1/5-Inch or 0.5-cm dice and add them to a large bowl. Peel and finely chop the onion and add it to the same bowl. Tip: If you use large English cucumbers or garden cucumbers, we recommend peeling off some skin and removing some of their seeds.Tip: If your tomatoes are very watery, drain some of their water before adding them to the bowl. Also, ensure your tomatoes are at room temperature for the best taste. Season the vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, salt, black pepper, and dried mint. Tip: There’s quite a bit of dried mint in the Shirazi salad. Start by adding one tablespoon, mix, then add more if you like. We like it with one and a half tablespoons of dried mint. Toss well until the mint is distributed evenly, then taste and adjust for salt before serving. Tip: You can make the salad an hour before serving it to allow the flavors to meld. Remember that tomatoes are most flavorful at room temperature, so if you keep the salad in the fridge, take it out at least 15 minutes before eating. It’s delicious with anything Middle Eastern and Mediterranean, such as:
Hummus Baba ganoush Mutabal Muhammara Falafel Pita bread Avocado spread Zucchini fritters Tzatziki Sumac onions, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, grilled halloumi.
You can also check out Louise’s roundup post, which includes 25 lovely Middle Eastern recipes. We also love it next to stuffed vegetables, such as:
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed Tomatoes
Stuffed Zucchini
Stuffed Eggplant
You can also make it up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge. However, tomatoes and cucumbers might release water if you do so. If this happens, drain some of the liquid from the salad, then add fresh olive oil and lime juice before serving it. Refrigerator: Store Shirazi salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving it because the tomatoes taste best at room temperature. Freezer: We do not recommend freezing it.
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