Tomato cucumber salad with fresh herbs is a variation of the popular Persian Salad Shirazi. This refreshing, easy, healthy, low calorie, low carb, crisp and flavorful salad is a total winner!
Salad Shirazi is a popular Persian salad and ideal for summertime. The typical ingredients are tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. But there are several variations of it with additional ingredients.
An important thing while preparing salads is to choose fresh and crisp vegetables in the peak of season. Optimizing the flavor, texture and appearance of the ingredients makes all the difference to the final taste.
When I visited Istanbul, I had these seriously amazing fresh salads. I often wondered why the salads tasted so out of the world! It was nothing but the absolute best organic fresh ingredients. For this salad I chose the best and it has such a delicious crunchy bite to it.
Looking for more tasty salads? You may like these:
- Moroccan Eggplant Salad
- Persian Cucumber Yogurt Salad (Mast-o-khiar)
- Eggplant Yogurt Salad with Pita Chips (Fatteh)
- Mixed Sprouts Salad with Coconut
Tomatoes and cucumbers are fairly common fresh salad ingredients. The radish and red onion add a certain pungency to the salad. Then it all gets wrapped in the intense flavors of a mixture of herbs.
And then rendered lemony with a faint note of garlic in the dressing. I have discussed about tomatoes in my post about Kofta Kebab Masala.
Cucumbers are ubiquitous. They are in salad, vegetable juices, sandwiches and even served as a street snack with a sprinkle of seasoning.
The cool cucumbers have some good nutrition to offer. They have more than 90% water, and therefore are good for hydration. As a rich source of vitamin K, cucumbers can support bone health.
They are rich in phytonutrients known as cucurbitacins. These nutrients have been studied extensively in cancer research and touted as a promising approach for therapy. And have also been shown to have anti diabetic and anti inflammatory effects.
Cucumbers are listed in the Environmental working group’s dirty dozen. That list includes produce with high levels of pesticide residue. So, buy organic when you can.
I hope that I have inspired you enough to make this tasty, crisp, colorful and nourishing salad!
Photography above: bijansviewfinder.com
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- 3 cups grape tomatoes diced
- 2 ½ cups cucumbers English hothouse, diced
- 1/3 cup radishes red globe, sliced
- 1/4 cup onions red, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley fresh, flat leaf, chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions fresh, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- 1/4 mint fresh, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
- Place the first eight ingredients (until fresh mint) in a large salad bowl.
- Whisk together the remaining ingredients to prepare the salad dressing.
- Drizzle it all over the vegetables.
- Toss well and serve the Tomato Cucumber Salad with Fresh Herbs.
NUTRITION FACTS
Servings: 7
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories 81, Total Fat 6 g (Saturated Fat 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 4 g), Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 176 mg, Potassium 318 mg, Phosphorus 38 mg, Total Carbohydrate 6 g, Dietary Fiber 2 g, Sugars 4 g, Protein 1 g
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