Iranian inspired summer salad

A tangy salad of cucumber, tomato and onion from Iran. Perfect with spicy food.

Serves 4

The Dressing

• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint or parsley.
• Salt and pepper to taste

A Salad Shirazi should be tangy, so don’t skimp on the lime juice. The choice of herb should complement the rest of your meal. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and leave aside for half an hour or so to let the herb flavour infuse.

The Salad

• 1 (400g) medium cucumber or about 5 of the small cucumbers you find in Persian and East European shops
• 6 (400g) tomatoes.
• 1 small red onion finely chopped. Use less if you are not an onion fan.

Method

Use a potato peeler to peel the cucumber if you don’t like cucumber skin. Cut the cucumber into thirds, half the thirds lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.

If you are using large tomatoes, half them and remove the seeds and any green stalk.

Cut all the tomato and cucumber into small equal sized pieces. No need for a tape measure, but 5mm pieces will give you a nice mouth mix. You want the same quantity of prepared cucumber and tomato and onion when prepared.

Place the salad ingredients into a bowl, pour on the dressing, mix and enjoy. The salad is ready to eat immediately, but will keep covered in the fridge. Some say this improves the flavour.

And…

• Add some pomegranate seeds for fruity flavour and a jewel like look.
• Use thinly sliced spring onions instead of red onion.
• A few radishes chopped the same size add extra crunch.
• For the spicy version favoured in the south of Iran add chopped fresh chili and substitute the mint for 2 tablespoons of coriander leaves.