It’s not too late to make the most of the last days official of summer with this recipe for Persian Shirazi Salad, or Salad e Shirazi as its also known.
Made with fresh cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, radish, herbs, toasted walnuts and lime vinaigrette. It’s great to serve as a salad or side dish in summer or all year long.
Shirazi Salad is also known as Persian cucumber and tomato salad, an indication of its Persian roots. It is named after the city Shiraz in Iran and is a common staple at Iranian tables year round as a salad, a side to grilled kabobs, or served alongside rice.
Similar to Greek and Isreali salads, it’s composed of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, herbs and lemon or lime. And to my recipe I added radish and walnuts for extra crunch!
TIP: toast walnuts in a 350° oven for about 9-10 minutes before using, this brings out the flavor
Serve this as a salad or a side dish
Traditionally shirazi salad has dried mint and/or sumac, but I opted for dried dill this time. Sumac would be awesome here and is a great spice to explore if you never have. It looks like fuchsia colored pepper and has a tangy citrusy flavor.
Herbs often used in shirazi salad include fresh dill, parsley, cilantro or mint. So, naturally, I went with my two faves ~ cilantro and parsley.
TIP: salt your cucumber, tomatoes and radish and let them drain on paper towels before using
Toasted walnuts add texture and crunch to this salad
Below are some of my suggestions for variations on the recipe. Not traditional, but I am taking liberty here.
Salad variations:
- use lemon instead of lime juice
- add fresh avocado (not traditional, but so delish!)
- add pomegranate seeds (not traditional, but yum!)
- chop ingredients smaller and use as a salsa or dip
- add grains such as freekeh, bulgur or quinoa to make heartier
Add any fresh herbs you like, I like cilantro and parsley
How to serve salad e Shirazi:
- as a side salad
- with grilled kabobs
- as part of a meze style spread
- with Persian rice, lavash or pita bread
However you decide to prepare and serve this salad I hope you love it as much as I do. And if you do make it, tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below so I can see what you create!
Like salads? Try these recipes…
Tortilla, Avocado and Quinoa Salad (vegan, GF)
Antioxidant Blueberry Salad (vegan, GF)
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 0 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- to taste salt & pepper
- 1 seedless cucumber sliced
- 1 cup sliced radish about 5- 6
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup minced red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley and/or mint
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Ingredients
Lime vinaigrette ingredients
Salad ingredients
|
|
- make vinaigrette by whisking lime, olive oil and dried dill in a small bowl, season to taste with salt & pepper
- in a large bowl combine all salad ingredients with vinaigrette and serve right away or let marinate to allow flavors to meld
Recipe serves 2 - 4
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com