Caprese Salad

I love a good caprese salad but I wanted to do something a little different so here is my twist on the Italian classic! It tasted great and looked pretty fancy, if I do say so myself. I'll keep this recipe in mind the next time we have company over for dinner.

Caprese Salad - serves 2

1 large bunch of fresh basil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

about 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted, plus more for garnish

a handful of parmesan, grated

olive oil

2 red ripe tomatoes

fresh mozzarella ball

To make the pesto: in a food processor, combine fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan and process until it is finely chopped. With the blade running, add olive oil a tablespoon at a time until the pesto comes together to the consistency that you desire. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until needed. (Sorry my measurements aren't very specific, but I usually just eyeball things. Also, this will make more pesto than is needed for this salad but you can always keep it in the fridge for another use.)

Cut tomatoes into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Season with salt and pepper and place tomato slices in a colander for 15 minutes to drain some of their liquid. Meanwhile, mozzarella into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices.

To plate the salad, alternate tomato and mozzarella slices. Drizzle pesto over their tops and sprinkle with reserved pine nuts. If desired, drizzle a little balsamic vinegar around the plate.