Caprese Salad

When we were in Italy for our honeymoon we ordered this salad called Caprese (Tomato and Mozzarella Salad) almost everyday. It's perfect with any dish and perfect in the summer too. I still remember all those fresh ingredients like yesterday. From time to time I would see it in a Supermarket but really never bothered to buy one as I don't really like buying a ready made salad at a grocery store especially if it involves sliced tomatoes because of the juice.

I was at the vegetables section at Whole Foods this morning and saw these varieties of tomatoes and suddenly the picture of Caprese Salad we had in Italy came to mind. I was going to make Grilled Sesame Crusted Tuna-click for the link for dinner so I thought this would really make a perfect combination.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
assorted tomatoes
mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced
2 tbsp. thinly sliced basil leaves

Directions:
Make dressing by whisking lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Then gradually whisk in the oil to blend. Then set aside.

Cut the tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the tomatoes and cheese on a platter. Drizzle the dressing over. To finish off, sprinkle with basil and additional salt and pepper to taste.

It really is simple. This salad made me realize that not all Italian food are complicated as this one was not.