Shirazi Salad (Easy Persian Cucumber Salad)

Shirazi Salad is bright, fresh, herbal and lemony with an abundance of pleasing textures from tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and fresh herbs. It is MY idea of the perfect salad! You’re gonna love it!

Shirazi Salad is the solution when you want a scrumptious, fresh salad, not just another lettuce salad. You guys, I can’t wait for you to try it!

Shirazi Salad has its origins in Iran and is traditionally made with sour grape juice. Since I don’t have access to the juice, I have altered the traditional recipe to fit the ingredients available in small-town middle America in the winter.

It’s made from mini cucumbers (Persian Cucumbers), heirloom grape tomatoes and red onion with lots of fresh herbs and a bright citrus and olive oil dressing.

You guys! This one’s a keeper! And it’s naturally gluten-free.

I can’t wait for you to taste that summery, sunshine flavor that’s been perking up the gray Nebraska winter days in our meals this week. Delicious!

The Ingredients

• Organic Mini Cucumbers (Persian Cucumbers) – any thin-skinned cucumber that doesn’t require peeling can work. Try English cucumbers, Turkish cucumbers or Armenian Cucumbers with the same great results.
• Heirloom Grape Tomatoes (Can sub in chopped Roma tomatoes.)
• Red Onion
• Fresh Lemons – You’ll need the zest of 1 and lemon juice of 2.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Herbs: Mint, Parsley and Cilantro
• Dried Dill
• Ground Sumac – I love this Middle Eastern spice. This is not an affiliate link, but it is the brand I use and love. You COULD technically omit the sumac, but you’ll be missing out. I also use it in my Gyro Meat recipe and in my Creamy Hummus with Roasted Garlic.

What are Persian Cucumbers (Mini Cucumbers)?

In my small town, Nebraska grocery store I’ve never seen any vegetable labeled Persian Cucumbers. However, my market does carry “mini cucumbers”. Good news! They’re the same thing.

The important thing about choosing cucumbers for this recipe is to choose a variety with thin skin that’s easy to eat and tastes good.  The best cucumbers for cucumber salads are those that you can leave the peel on and don’t have tons of big seeds.

Turkish, Armenian or even English cucumbers work great in this yummy tomato cucumber salad recipe, too. So, just choose the thin-skinned cucumber variety available in your area and your Shirazi Salad will be spectacular!

Can I Substitute a Different Variety for the Heirloom Grape Tomatoes?

Absolutely! Heirloom grape tomatoes are definitely not traditional in Persian Salad (Shirazi Salad). They are simply the tomatoes that have the most flavor in the winter and are available to me, here.

Any grape or even cherry tomato will work. But, if you have access to them, Roma tomatoes are ideal!

Roma tomatoes have meatier flesh and fewer seeds. Sadly, while I can certainly get them in Nebraska in the winter, they are absolutely flavorless.

And this delicious cucumber tomato salad needs the flavor to pop! So, grape tomatoes is what I choose for making Shirazi Salad.

Plus, the mixed heirloom variety adds so much color to this salad. They’re just my favorite!

Use the tomato variety that makes sense for you, your family and where you live. Choose a variety like Roma tomatoes that have fewer seeds and more tomato flesh.

What to Serve with Shirazi Salad

Honestly, any meal will benefit from the bright, acidic notes of this wonderful Persian salad. It’s fabulous with steak or chicken. And, it’s a wonderful complement to the gaminess of lamb. But, refreshing cucumber tomato salad is also beautiful with pork or fish. We also enjoy it with Blog Chef’s grilled chicken.

Cucumber Salad recipes will lift and lighten any gravy- or sauce-heavy meal. And it’s fantastic with casseroles. Try it with any of our favorite main dishes!

But don’t miss out on making it a perfect lunch too, by simply adding a sandwich or some palate-pleasing pasta like this Lebanese Pearl Couscous shared by Janelle over at Plant Based Folk. Yum!

• Any soup or Chili needs salad and bread. Try Shirazi Salad with Colcannon Soup or any other of our delicious soup recipes.
• It’s delightful with Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts or Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts.
• Try it as a side for Maple Mustard Pork Loin or my delicious 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ham.
• Cucumber Salad is exceptional with Sloppy Joes and with Hamburger Potato Casserole.
• And, Shirazi Salad is also a beautiful complement to Mississippi Pot Roast or even Meatloaf.
• Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon

However you serve it, it will be bright, refreshing and satisfying.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Substitute lime juice and zest in place of the lemon for the dressing.
• Use avocado oil in place of the extra virgin olive oil.
• If you have access to the traditional sour grape juice used for Shirazi salad in Iran, use it to replace the lemon juice and zest.
• Omit the ground sumac.

How to Make Persian Cucumber Salad (Salad E Shirazi)

1. Wash and chop all your vegetables and herbs. You want the cucumbers and tomatoes to be small diced, while the red onion should be minced. Also chop the fresh mint, parsley and cilantro, finely.
2. Zest one of the lemons. You can actually zest both and freeze the zest of the second one for another recipe if you like. But you’ll only need the zest of one for this bright cucumber salad.
3. Juice both lemons. You’ll need about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. For the medium lemons I had, it required two.
4. Add the chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, fresh herbs, (fresh mint, parsley, & cilantro) and lemon zest to a mixing bowl. Stir everything together to distribute the ingredients evenly.

5. In a liquid measuring cup, add the fresh lemon juice, olive oil, dried dill, ground sumac, salt and pepper. Whisk them together to make the dressing for your salad.
6. Pour the dressing over your salad and toss to coat all the vegetables.
7. You can serve the salad immediately. But, if you have 30 minutes to let it rest in the fridge, the flavors in Shirazi salad come alive and meld to be their brightest best. Yum!

The Recipe