Shirazi Salad

Shriazi Salad is an Iranian dish that’s freshly flavored, easy to make, and perfect for serving all summer long! Cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onions are the main ingredients, but it’s the bold fresh herbs, lime juice, and olive oil that make this salad unforgettably good.

Shirazi Salad

You don’t always need lettuce to toss up a salad. In fact, some of my most favorite (and filling) salads are lettuce-free! I love that Shirazi Salad is composed of chunkier veggies that make for a satisfying bite. The crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and bold red onions pair well not just with their natural flavors, but with their textures, too.

What really makes Shirazi Salad stand out is the addition of both fresh mint and fresh parsley. The herbaceous notes in this salad are bold, but not so powerful that they completely take over. When made just right, your Shirazi Salad should be a well balanced combination of ingredients that are anything but boring! Also, you’ll love how refreshing that mint tastes with the lime juice on a hot summer day.

Speaking of lime juice, make sure it’s fresh! Freshly squeezed lime juice is all I ever use, especially when it comes to two things – cocktails and salads. When it’s not cooked into something, you really can’t get away with using the bottled stuff. It’s just not the same! With a salad recipe this impeccably fresh, you’ll want to use only the best ingredients. Fresh herbs, fresh lime juice, fresh veggies – the works!

How to Make It

Just like any good salad recipe, Shirazi Salad is so quick and easy to toss up! The longest part of this recipe is having to wait for it to chill in the fridge. Don’t worry though, because the refreshing end result is so very worth the short half hour wait!

Toss the salad. In a large bowl, add the cucumbers, onion, tomatoes and parsley. Toss to combine.

Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil and mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss again. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Let it chill. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Tips for the Best Shirazi Salad

• Try to chop your cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions into the same size pieces. That way, your salad will be more picturesque and presentable! Plus, you’ll want to have all three vegetables on your fork to experience the full flavor of this salad. That’s easy to do when all of the vegetables are uniform in size.
• Use a good quality olive oil. It’s a key ingredient for the dressing, just like the lime juice, so try to make sure you’re not skimping out on it. Remember, the more green your olive oil is, the better it will taste. Do your salad justice by not using a super generic olive oil if you can help it.
• Do NOT use dried herbs! The seriously delightful aromatic quality of this salad can be created only with fresh herbs. Plus, dried herbs won’t provide that same bold, fresh flavor.
• Use kosher salt, not iodized. Kosher salt will enhance all of the other flavors, while iodized will just make everything taste salty.

How long will Shirazi Salad stay fresh?

In an airtight container in the fridge, Shirazi Salad will stay fresh for about 24 hours. The thing is, when the acidic dressing mixes with the fresh veggies, the timer starts and the freshness of the veggies doesn’t usually make it past the one day mark. When it’s been sitting for too long, the vegetables in Shirazi Salad will lose their original consistency and turn soggy from the dressing.

However, you can prepare the vegetables ahead of time and have them tossed and ready to go! Store your prepared salad without the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

No lettuce? No problem!

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