Toma­to-Moz­zarel­la Tow­ers with Pinenuts

(serves four)

1 per­fect­ly ripe toma­to per person
3 balls moz­zarel­la, sliced thick to make 12 slices
1/2 cup pinenuts, toast­ed light­ly in a skil­let or oven till light brown
good driz­zle olive oil, per­haps 1/3 cup
sprin­kle bal­sam­ic vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
hand­ful of fresh basil, sliced thin (chif­fon­ade)
zest of whole lemon
salt and pepper

On a nice plat­ter, start with a slice of toma­to for each per­son, then build upwards: a slice of moz­zarel­la, anoth­er slice of toma­to, until you run out. Sprin­kle with pinenuts, let­ting them tum­ble down onto the plat­ter. Then you may either mix the dress­ing ingre­di­ents (olive oil, bal­sam­ic and lemon juice) or you can sprin­kle them sep­a­rate­ly over the tow­ers. Zest the lemon right over the tow­ers, sprin­kle with basil and sea­son with salt and pep­per. Divine.