By I have developed what the staff at Cedarhurst call the "Ruth Feldman Protocol" — a phrase I find simultaneously amusing and horrifying, because a protocol named after me suggests I have become a permanent feature of the institution, which I have, and which is the thing I feared and the thing I accepted and the thing that is simply true now: I am part of Cedarhurst the way I was part of Oceanside High School, a daily presence, a known quantity, the woman who comes at two with food and a book and the specific love that only a wife of forty-one years can bring to a room in a memory care facility.
The protocol: arrive at two. Greet the staff. Go to Marvin's room. Unpack the food. If Marvin is awake: feed him, read to him, hold his hand. If Marvin is sleeping: sit beside him, eat a piece of the food myself, read silently, wait. Sometimes he wakes. Sometimes he doesn't. The waiting is the visit. The sitting is the love. The being-there is the marriage, and the marriage does not require the other person to be awake, because I have been married to Marvin for forty-one years and he has been asleep for approximately fourteen of those years (he was a sound sleeper even before the disease) and the sleeping did not diminish the marriage then and does not diminish it now.
I made a simple tomato tart — puff pastry, sliced tomatoes, ricotta, basil — the kind of thing you make in July when the tomatoes are too good to cook for long, when the goal is to honor the tomato, not transform it, to let the tomato be what it is: sun-warm, juice-dripping, perfectly imperfect. The tart was beautiful. I photographed it. I brought a slice to Marvin. He ate it. He said, "Tomato." He identified the ingredient. The identification is a victory. Every correct word is a victory.
The tart I brought Marvin that day was everything a July tomato deserves — unhurried, barely transformed, honest. When he said “Tomato,” I knew I’d made exactly the right thing, and I’ve made it nearly every week since. This Delicious Tomato Pie is the recipe I return to: puff pastry crust, layered ripe tomatoes, creamy ricotta, and a handful of fresh basil, because some recipes shouldn’t be complicated — they should just be true.
Delicious Tomato Pie
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 3–4 large ripe summer tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Salt the tomatoes. Lay sliced tomatoes on a paper-towel-lined sheet pan and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let sit 15 minutes, then pat dry. This draws out excess moisture so the crust stays crisp.
- Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold the thawed puff pastry onto the parchment and gently roll to smooth any creases.
- Score the border. Using a sharp knife, lightly score a 1-inch border around the pastry (do not cut all the way through). Brush the border with beaten egg.
- Mix the ricotta filling. In a small bowl, stir together ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, minced garlic, olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper until combined.
- Assemble the tart. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly inside the scored border. Arrange the dried tomato slices over the ricotta in a single overlapping layer. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Bake. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry border is deep golden brown and puffed and the tomatoes are softened and beginning to caramelize at the edges.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Scatter torn fresh basil generously over the top. Slice into 8 pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 265 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg