Persian Cucumber Salad
Persian Cucumber Salad has a flavor profile similar to tabbouleh, but with cucumbers providing bulk instead of bulgur wheat. That makes it a good choice for paleos, ketos and other carb-avoiders. Plus it’s a nice change of pace in any mezze presentation. Following is our version of Samin Nosrat’s Salad-e Shirazi from NYT Cooking.
Ingredients:
3 to 4 Persian cucumbers (about ¾ pound) or equivalent amount of large green cucumbers
½ red onion, chopped into ¼ inch cubes
2 T finely chopped Italian parsley or cilantro or a combination
1 t dried mint or 1 T finely chopped fresh mint
2 medium tomatoes
4 T fresh lime juice (from about 2-3 limes)
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
¾ t Kosher salt
¼ t black pepper
Method: peel the cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seedy core with a spoon. (If you’re using smaller Persian style cucumbers you don’t need to seed or peel, though you can use a peeler to stripe them if you like.) Chop into ½ inch cubes. Remove the seedy pith from tomatoes and chop into ½ inch cubes. Combine with fresh and dried herbs. (The home cooks who have tried both seem to prefer the dried mint to fresh). Add lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss and let the flavors develop for half an hour, then serve cold. Persian Cucumber Salad tastes just as good the next day.
