Middle Eastern Salad Shirazi
Middle Eastern Salad Shirazi is a chopped salad made of tomato, cucumber, red onion, parsley, and lemon juice. It’s a fabulous, fresh side dish that perfectly complements kabobs, rice, hummus, and other Middle Eastern favorites!
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My family and I have what we call “Mediterranean Night” for dinner about once a week.
It’s a hodgepodge of Middle Eastern and Greek dishes, and usually consists of hummus, pita bread, tzatziki sauce, tabouli, and Middle Eastern Salad Shirazi.
Sometimes we go vegetarian with falafel, and sometimes we have kubideh or grilled chicken.
Mediterranean Night is one of our favorite dinners because it’s not only healthy and fresh, but delicious too.
When you’re finished eating, you feel satisfied but not weighed down from greasy or heavy food.
Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Persian cucumbers
- Tomato
- Red onion
- Parsley – Flat Italian or Curly
- Lemon
- Sumac
- Salt & pepper
📍The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Salad Shirazi is really easy to make. It’s just a lot of chopping of ingredients, but what you get when it’s ready is a side salad that’s fresh, crunchy, a little lemony, and really good for you!
I always add it to my Middle Eastern Bowls with Spiced Beef, pictured below.
What kind of cucumbers are best?
Persian cucumbers are traditional for this salad, but if you can’t find them, you can use a seedless English cucumber or small, snacking cucumbers.
These types of cucumbers have less seeds and water than traditional slicing cucumbers and will stay crunchier longer.
How to serve salad shirazi
- This salad is often served with kabobs, rice, hummus, and pita bread.
- It’s a great addition to rice bowls like shown above.
- This cucumber salad is a great healthy side dish to any of your favorite proteins.
How long does this cucumber salad last?
Keep this salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 4 days.
More dishes to serve with your Middle Eastern/Mediterranean meal:
- Mediterranean Balela Salad
- Toasted Za’atar Pita Chips (shown below)
- Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips
- Harissa Garlic Hummus
- Lemony Greek Chickpeas
NOTES:
- Sumac is a maroon-colored spice that adds a tangy, lemony flavor. It’s perfect in this salad and is amazing sprinkled over hummus. It may be hard to find in a traditional grocery store, but you can get it in the recipe card.
- Some people like to add a drizzle of olive oil to this salad. I omit it from my recipe, but feel free to add it.
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Middle Eastern Salad Shirazi
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 cup chopped Roma tomatoes
- 4 Persian cucumbers chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
- sumac couple dashes
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 lemon
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl except the lemon. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon and pour it over everything in the bowl. Stir.. If needed, squeeze the other half of the lemon and add to the bowl. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed. Garnish with sumac and serve or refrigerate for later. For best results, let sit in refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
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Made this for a cook out for coworkers light and refreshing.