Caprese Salad

     This is probably the easiest recipe I'll ever post because it requires no actual cooking. Still, it's something that everyone should know about. I think i've shared my love of my favorite trio of Italian ingredients before. These are of course, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. They belong together, and this simple salad really lets the flavors of each shine through. Make this throughout the summer, every time you have an Italian dinner. It makes a perfectly light and refreshing appetizer.

INGREDIENTS:
8 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
2 tomatoes, sliced
a few fresh basil leaves (Unfortunately, I only had the kind from a jar today, but that works too.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Slice the tomatoes and cheese. If you're really lucky, you can buy fresh mozzarella already sliced specifically for this purpose.
2. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. If you're using refrigerated jar basil, add 1/2 teaspoon of it to this dressing.
3. Layer the tomatoes, cheese, and fresh basil leaves on a serving plate. Then, use a spoon to drizzle all of the dressing over the top. Obviously, it looks a lot prettier with fresh basil leaves, but you get the idea.

Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for the main course I made with this!