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| This traditional tomato salad from the middle east is something I look forward to every summer. |
(Updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions, July 2013. My friend Massoud is coming to visit me again in a few weeks, so I thought that was a good reason to update this recipe with better photos!)
This salad that's made all over the middle east is one of my very favorite ways to eat tomatoes when they're fresh and sun-ripened, and if I ever was forced to choose my top ten favorite ways to eat tomatoes, this salad would absolutely be on that list. It's actually very good made with Roma tomatoes since they have less seeds and the flesh is firm, but you can make it with any type of tomatoes that have good flavor. I learned to make the salad years ago from my friend Massoud, who came to the United States from Iran, and this combination of salad ingredients is so traditional that it's just called "salad" there. In the U.S. you might see it on a restaurant menu called Salad Shirazi. You can vary the proportions based on your own taste or what you have in the garden, but don't skimp on the mint and parsley, which is what makes this so special.
This salad that's made all over the middle east is one of my very favorite ways to eat tomatoes when they're fresh and sun-ripened, and if I ever was forced to choose my top ten favorite ways to eat tomatoes, this salad would absolutely be on that list. It's actually very good made with Roma tomatoes since they have less seeds and the flesh is firm, but you can make it with any type of tomatoes that have good flavor. I learned to make the salad years ago from my friend Massoud, who came to the United States from Iran, and this combination of salad ingredients is so traditional that it's just called "salad" there. In the U.S. you might see it on a restaurant menu called Salad Shirazi. You can vary the proportions based on your own taste or what you have in the garden, but don't skimp on the mint and parsley, which is what makes this so special.
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